Lost Hearts
by miwakulau1208
Summary: Isaac Netero knew he was a genius. Hell, he wouldn't be the 12th Chairman of the Hunters Association if he was stupid. And so, he believed that letting Yuki Kura (adopted granddaughter) and Ging Freecss meet was a win-win situation. Through that meeting, and an embarrassing experience, the hunting begins. (Prepare for shitty adult humor and almost accurate dialogs but not really)
1. Welcoming Insanity

Author's Note: After more than one year of not updating and just being plain shitty and lazy, I'm finally back with a yet another new story that is just a rewritten and better version of my old stories because seriously, I was never contented with those past stories. And so, I welcome you to the new and supposedly better, Lost Hearts. Take note that this is very different from my previous versions. Trust me, it is very different. (Oh, and to those guests who reviewed that my OC is a fucking Mary Sue, I got five words for you: I. Don't. Give. A. Fuck. You didn't scare me off with your snide remarks. They are bullshit to me.) So, let's get on with the story!

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

 **Prologue: Welcoming Insanity**

"Meeting adjourned!" Isaac Netero, 12th Chairman of the Hunters Association, announced and began gathering his paperwork.

The Zodiacs, a group of twelve highly-skilled hunters picked by Netero himself, one-by-one stood up, collected their own paperwork, and left the conference room. Even though their faces looked normal, they were grumbling in the inside because they were called in for a meeting just so they could listen (forcefully) to the Chairman ramble on and on about his life. They put up with it anyway since the Chairman is pretty old and lonely.

Well, not lonely, per se. More like he is a proud grandfather who wants to boast about his granddaughter's achievements to his co-workers. That statement is almost true. The only word to add is "adopted" before the granddaughter.

When the doors shut close, Netero let out a sigh then began tapping a blonde head that was on the table. He heard some groaning then the head lifted itself up. Blearily, ocean blue cat eyes opened and glared at Netero.

Netero just smiled. "Had a good nap, Yuki Kura?"

"It was alright." Yuki yawned widely and absently finger-combed her long blonde hair. "But I don't really get why I have to be in these shitty meetings. These meetings don't even have a purpose."

"Yes they do!" Netero pouted at his adopted granddaughter. "I get to talk about you and how great you are."

"Just like a show pony but only human." Yuki snickered at that.

"More like a demon than human." Netero muttered and though he saw Yuki smirk a bit at that, he smiled. Yuki Kura, his twelve-year-old adoptive granddaughter, has been with him since the girl was merely one year old. Growing up without a mother or a father, only an insane but wise old man, she became quite an amazing young lady with some of her sanity in shambles but ultimately, she is the Hunters Association 12th Chairman's adopted granddaughter.

"So, what are we supposed to do now?" Yuki asked her adoptive grandfather.

Netero smirks at that. "Good thing you asked." He pressed a button on his intercom then said, "Beans, please let Ging in the conference room, no matter what. Thank you."

Yuki raised an eyebrow at that. "Ging? Who's that?"

The two turned to look at the opened doors and saw Beans, Netero's loyal and trustworthy secretary, carrying a tied-up grown man. Yuki couldn't help but let her jaw drop at seeing a green jellybean anthromorphic being carrying an adult man though she noticed that the man has a short stature.

Netero glanced at Yuki's face and laughed his signature deranged Santa Claus laugh. "Hohoho! Still a difficult kid I see, Ging Freecss."

"Oh shut up, old man!" Ging sneered at Netero then at Beans. "How did you know where I am, anyway?"

Beans shrugged and smiles. "Intuition, I guess." He then helped Ging stand up.

Yuki couldn't help but stare at the weird man who was now untying himself up with surprising ease. She didn't know who he was but she figured he was an important Hunter and one of her adoptive grandfathers favorites.

Ging noticed the eyes on him and found himself staring at a little blonde girl with blue cat eyes who looked like she was contemplating who he was. He broke eye contact with her then looked at Netero. "So, what do you want from me? I received your message that you have an important assignment for me. You're lucky that I just finished my last assignment and had time."

"I must be really lucky then." Netero smiled then became serious. "This is not an assignment or a mission. This is a personal request from me."

Yuki and Beans let out a small noise of surprise. Ging just raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

Netero placed his hands on Yuki's shoulders then pushed her forward towards Ging. "Ging, meet Yuki Kura, my adopted granddaughter. Yuki, meet Ging Freecss, a Double-Star Hunter who is one of the five best _Nen_ users in the whole world. You two should get used to each other because you will be travelling the whole world together for the next years."

"Wait, what?!" Yuki turned to look at Netero. "I'm travelling the whole world?!"

"Wait a minute!" Ging exclaimed, really surprised at the so-called personal request. "I'm gonna be babysitting a kid?!"

Netero sighed then suddenly pushed Yuki towards Ging with the force of a high-speed truck crashing at a human body. Yuki and Ging, completely unexpecting that, were pushed from their positions and crashed at the nearest wall, making a crater. They dropped to the floor at the same time though Ging, instinctively, gathered Yuki to his arms and took the brunt of the fall.

Beans gasped then stared at Netero. "Chairman, you didn't have to do that!"

"They looked like they needed that kind of meeting." Netero chuckled when he saw what Ging did to Yuki. "They will get along, you'll see."

" _I hope so, Chairman."_ Beans thought and shook his head. He was worried but he will just have to trust his boss with what he is doing.

"Ah fuck, good thing _Nen_ exists." Ging groaned. He already didn't expect that he would meet the old man's adopted granddaughter. He didn't expect that the old man would push the girl towards him with the power of a truck. He looked at Yuki who was also groaning and felt her shifting.

"Fuck, I can't believe that the old geezer did that to me." Yuki shakily sat up and stretched her back muscles though when she felt that her ass was sitting on something warm, she looked down and saw Ging staring at her with a gaze that she couldn't decipher what it meant. There was silence between which was becoming more awkward by the second.

"You okay, kid?" Ging finally asked after staring long enough that it caused him to blush a little when he felt Yuki sit on his stomach. _'_ _Good thing she's not sitting on my groin. She must know that would be awkward on extreme proportions.'_

"Yeah, I'm okay." Yuki looked at the crater they made and cringed. "That is gonna be taken on our accounts, I can see it."

Ging couldn't help but snort. "You're worried more about money that's gonna be used to fix that crater than me who actually took the fall?"

"Excuse me but you didn't feel the impact of the old man's push on your back without any sort of protection!" Yuki snarled at him.

"You are a brat!"

"And you are a shitty asshole!"

"Oh now I'm a shitty asshole?! Well, you're a bitch cunt that can't even say thank you to the guy who helped her!"

"I'm not a bitch cunt! It's bitch goddess! Get your facts straight!"

Ging looked at her with a confused face. "Bitch goddess?"

Yuki smiled and nodded. "It means success actually."

"Wow." Ging ruffled his own hair and chuckles. "You are one weird kid. Aren't you only twelve years old or something?"

"Yep!" Yuki laughed then stood up, not really feeling the pain of the impact anymore. She was used to that anyway since she always trained with Netero. She offered Ging a hand. "My name is Yuki Kura, twelve years old, a.k.a Assassin Princess and Bitch Goddess."

Ging took the offered hand. "Ging Freecss, twenty-three years old, professional Hunter and a selfish asshole."

Yuki laughed at that. "All Hunters are selfish assholes."

"I totally agree with that."

Netero cleared his throat and saw Yuki and Ging stand up straight and look at him. They looked like kids that were caught cheating in an exam which amused him. "And now that you two know each other, I'll explain my request. Yuki, you will join Ging in his travels and learn from him about everything and anything. Ging, you may accept or refuse this request but all you have to do is be yourself and get used to having someone with you in your travels."

Ging heard and saw the implication directed to him from Netero. He just sighed and nodded. " I accept your request, old man." _'_ _This is probably my repentance or maybe karma.'_

"Why do that though? Finally letting me out of your clutches?" Yuki joked.

"Hardly." Netero walked towards her and ruffled her hair. "You are my granddaughter and I will always keep tabs on you wherever you are, whenever I want. And this will be a great experience for you."

"A great experience, huh?" Yuki smirked and eyed Ging at the corner of her eyes.

Ging also smirks. "Looks like we're gonna be stuck to each other for the next years. Get ready for my training because I really don't hold back."

"That's good." Yuki faced him. "Because I really don't like half-assed attempts."

Netero nodded once. "Good. And your journey starts right about…" He looked at his watch then said, "...now."

"Wait, what about luggage?" Yuki questioned.

Ging snickered, took her arm, and then they ran in high speed, dragging her. "We don't need shit! This is gonna be Survival 101!"

"The fuck?!" Yuki laughed out loud. "Alright then! Lets do this!"

Once the two disappeared from their sights, Beans said to Netero, "Are you really sure about this, Chairman?"

"Positive." Netero crossed his arms and smirks. "Yuki will learn a lot from Ging and Ging will learn a lot from Yuki. It's a win-win situation actually. Hohoho!"

While watching the Chairman laugh, Beans just shook his head and just told himself that the Hunters Association is full of insane people.

 **へ** **(** **゜∇、** **°)** **へ** **FOUR YEARS LATER (APRIL 1)** **へ** **(** **゜∇、** **°)** **へ**

"CHEERS!"

Yuki Kura, who just turned sixteen years old, and Ging Freecss, who was twenty-seven years old, tapped their shot glasses together and drank the clear vodka in one gulp. They simultaneously placed it back on the table and let the bartender fill it again with more vodka.

"Happy sweet sixteen, Princess Bitch Goddess." Ging coughed out, feeling the burn of the strong alcohol in his throat. He wasn't much of a drinker of alcohol but he indulges in it more often than in his past because of Yuki's influence.

"Thanks. And today's the death anniversary of my parents. May they rest in hell and have fun there." Yuki took the newly-filled shot glass up to the air and drank it again in one gulp. She felt the burn but she doesn't mind it since she loves drinking alcohol and persuaded Ging on doing the same.

Ging didn't comment on her statement about her parents. He knew it was a bit of a hard limit, meaning Yuki can talk about it but afterwards, it depresses her, so they stir away from the hard limits. (Oh, and Ging knew that she got that term from BDSM which amuses him and irritates him at the same time).

"So, what's your wish, birthday girl?" Ging asked, swirling his shot glass and occasionally sipping on it.

"My wish, huh?" Yuki contemplated on that. She really didn't know what she wishes for. She's got money (a hell lot of money actually, Ging smacked her head for being a stingy bitch when he found out), good looks (long blonde hair, blue cat eyes, a very nice figure), a real job with good pay (a dangerous job but nonetheless it's real and it's good), and she's content with her life.

"Content? Are you sure about that?" Ging questioned. Yuki sighed and cursed herself for saying it out loud.

"Well, it's true that I'm content." Yuki sipped the vodka then turned to face Ging. "But aren't we just human beings, Ging?"

Ging blinked at that then smirked. "Yeah, we can never be satisfied."

Yuki smirked back then raised her shot glass. Ging raised his. They clicked their glasses and drank the vodka.

It was about 8:00 PM when they decided to celebrate Yuki's birthday with one of her favorite pastimes-drinking alcohol. She and Ging finished their tasks for the day then found a bar that would suit their needs. It was now half-past midnight and the two of them were drunk.

Ging was the first one who became drunk since his tolerance was a whole lot less than Yuki's and it amused Yuki to see the older man slurring his words and being plain stupid. However, she became drunk after the next ten shots of vodka. And when Yuki Kura becomes drunk, she becomes horny and insatiable.

And so, that's why in the next morning, Yuki woke up in their rented hotel bed to the sounds of Ging puking his guts out in the bathroom. She only had a slight headache which she solved with a tablet of aspirin that was conveniently inside a drawer beside the bed. But she noticed that something was quite different.

She was naked.

Ging flinched at Yuki's "HOLY FUCKING SHIT" and rubbed his forehead, trying to remove the tension. This was one of the reasons why he didn't like drinking alcohol. Hangovers are hairy and sadistic bitches. Of course, he noticed that he was naked and he even saw the condoms they used at the floor (he was really glad that he was conscious enough to do that last night). He didn't expect that to happen and hoped that it won't be awkward between them.

He shakily stood up, flushed the toilet, then took a quick shower. After tying the towel at his hips, he went to the bedroom and saw Yuki staring at the condoms at the floor with a shocked and funny expression. He cleared his throat and Yuki whipped her head towards him. He didn't mind that Yuki eyed his almost-naked body up and down (he figured that being embarrassed with this was pointless) but he tried to hide his flinch when she locked eyes with him.

Yuki, after a few seconds, shrugged then said, "We'll talk about this later. Right now, Im gonna shower. Don't you fucking dare run away, Ging, or I'll slice both your balls with a rusty dagger. You know I will do it!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Ging agreed quickly. He knew that Yuki was so not joking with that. He's seen it with both of his eyes open and he did not want to endure that.

Yuki then smiled gently (Ging felt himself softening at that) and walked past him to the bathroom. When he heard the door shut, he went to his bag and pulled out a pair of boxers and pants which he put on. He didn't bother with a shirt. It was too hot at where they were to wear one. He sat on the bed and waited for their talk to start.

After about thirty minutes, Yuki walked out the bathroom wearing a simple summer dress and was rubbing her hair dry with not-so-good results. She wasn't used in drying her hair herself so she offered the towel to Ging, as always since they started travelling together. Ging took it and started their normal routine of drying Yuki's hair and afterwards, the brushing of Yuki's hair.

They sat in silence, not really an awkward silence but more of a thoughtful one, waiting for someone to break it. Eventually, after Ging brushed the last of Yuki's tangles, they simultaneously said, "I'm not sorry."

Yuki's eyes widened and she turned to look at Ging. "Well, I did not expect that."

"And I certainly did not expect that I would have sex with you. Hell, you just turned sixteen!" Ging sighed and rubbed his head. "But then it happened."

"Yeah, I even saw the condoms. We're lucky that we used those. Less chances of me getting pregnant."

"Good because I don't want another one." Ging muttered, not realizing that he said the words out loud.

And Yuki was fucking shell-shocked. "...Excuse me? Another one?!"

"Shit!" Ging cursed himself.

"You have a child?!"

"Let me explain…"

"Wait, do you have a wife?! Holy shit, I just became a mistress! A real mistress! And I just turned sixteen!"

"Hold on! Don't jump into conclusions!"

But Yuki was already listing off conclusions. "If you have a wife, then she is gonna kill me or maybe your child will for seducing you. Holy shit, that is intense…"

"Shut up!" Ging slapped his hand on her mouth to quiet her. "And let me explain, damn it!"

Yuki pulled the hand away and glared at Ging. "Fine! Explain."

Ging saw the little hurt and fear in Yuki's eyes. It made his stomach churn. "This was not your first, right?"

"Of course not." Yuki snorted. "I already lost my virginity when I was ten years old."

"That's good to know and I don't want to know who took it." Ging shivered at that. "But anyway, I'll explain. I was nineteen years old when I found out that I was becoming a father. I was young and stupid with social interactions and apparently impregnated a girl. A few months later, my son, Gon, was born."

"Do you have a picture of him with you?" Yuki asked immediately.

Ging shook his head. "I never had a picture of him. I actually don't know what he looks like now. I only remember that he has my hair and my nose. I left him to my cousin, Mito, at Whale Island, my hometown."

Yuki felt her jaw drop at that. "What the fuck, Ging? How old was he when you left him?"

Ging looked away from her. "Two years old."

"And how old is he now?!"

"Probably eight years old."

"Well I'll be damned, Ging. He practically doesn't know you then!"

"I know that!" Ging clenched his teeth hard. "I know that. Didn't I agree with you that all Hunters are selfish? Well, I became selfish. I decided to pursue my job as a Hunter and left my son there because he will only be a hindrance to me." He then looked down to his lap. "He doesn't deserve a shitty father like me."

Yuki sighed then moved to hug him. "Yeah, Gon doesn't deserve a shitty father like you but admitting it is enough for me to know that given a miracle, you would be there for him and help him grow."

Ging huffed at that. "But the thing is that I left him and I have plans for him and ugh, I feel like I'm controlling his life."

"Wait, plans?" Yuki perked up at that. "I don't care about the controlling his life thing because seriously, all parents are like that to their children. Trust me, I know." Ging couldn't help but laugh at that. He knew what Yuki meant. Having an insane adoptive grandfather who is the chairman of an association full of more insane people can be quite taxing to a kid.

"Yes, plans." Ging smirked at that. "And you're in it."

Yuki smirked, too. "Is that so? Do tell."

With that, the awkwardness from the sex was gone and the sadness and guilt flew away.

 **ヽ** ಠ **益** ಠ **ﾉ** **6 MONTHS LATER (** **￣︶￣** **)**

"You know, when you told me that your hometown is called Whale Island, I never thought that I would be seeing an island shaped like a fucking whale." Yuki told Ging after they stepped off the ship that took them to the island.

"It is aptly named, isn't it?" Ging chuckled.

"So now that we're here, what are we gonna do?" Yuki felt a tap on her shoulder so she turned but she saw no one. Confused, she looked around and just saw vendors and fish mongers. But one thing she immediately noticed, Ging Freecss was gone.

Scratching her head, Yuki felt another tap so she turned around, about to growl out when her eyes dropped down (though only a bit since she was still shorter than average) and saw big brown eyes staring straight at hers. She backed away a bit and quickly, her jaw dropped when she saw a little boy with big brown eyes and a similar black and spiky hairstyle.

" _No fucking way. Don't tell me I'm seeing Gon Freecss right now."_

The boy grinned widely and held out an envelope to her. " _Nee-chan_ , I think you dropped this."

"Um, thank you." Still feeling floored, Yuki took the envelope, opened it, and read the note in it.

 _Yuki, take care of my son and train him. This is a personal request from me so you have a choice of accepting it or refusing it. Try and catch me if you can._

 _-Ging_

 _P.S. Sorry I had to leave quickly. I saw Mito and I didn't want anyone else to recognize me._

Yuki crumpled the note then threw it to the sea. She could feel the irritation bubbling inside her (who wouldn't become irritated at someone who left a kid at her to babysit) but at the same time, it made her happy that Ging still thought of his son's well-being, despite still leaving it at somebody else's hands.

"Are you okay?" The little boy asked Yuki with concern but then he crossed his arms with a frown. "You shouldn't throw trash in the sea. It will be dangerous to the fish and plants."

Yuki couldn't help but laugh at how different and similar the father and the son were. "I'm okay, don't worry. And I apologize for throwing trash in the sea." She managed to say between giggles.

The boy smiled at that. "I believe you. You look happy." He held out a hand. "My name is Gon Freecss."

Yuki also smiled and shook the hand offered. "And my name is Yuki Kura. You can just call me Yuki. Nice to meet you, Gon!"

"Gon! Where's that salt that I told you to buy?!" A woman's voice shouted through the crowd. She appeared, wearing a bloody and scaly apron, with a glare on her eyes.

Gon winced and laughed, sticking his tongue out. "Sorry, Mito-san."

Yuki stared at the woman and saw some resemblance. "Um, hi."

"Oh, hi! I'm Mito Freecss. You are?" Mito smiled warmly.

"Yuki Kura." They briefly shook hands.

"Sorry about Gon. Was he troubling you?"

"Nah, he was only helping me."

"I see." Mito looked at her then tilted her head to one side. "You're not from around here, are you?"

' _Fuck. Accommodations.'_ Yuki just scratched her head and laughed a bit. "Nope. I wanted to get away from the city so I just let my instincts take me to where I'm supposed to go and here I am." She cringed at her lame excuse.

"You can stay at our home!" Gon told her excitedly.

"What?" Yuki was surprised.

"You see, this island doesn't have hotels since it's not really a tourist spot. It's more of a paradise for fishermen." Mito smiled. "You can stay with us for as long as you like. We have room for you."

"Wow, that's really awesome. I'm so lucky!" Yuki laughed and thought to herself, ' _I can't believe they actually took that shit excuse.'_

Gon took her hand then dragged her with surprising strength. "I'll show you the way to our house! We'll have to climb since it's on a hill but it's fun!"

Yuki remembered the time that Ging dragged her out of the Hunters Association and towards the world outside without any luggage. She smiled at the memory and saw Gon staring at her with a wide grin. She smiled wider then the two of them ran towards the house on the hill.

Mito Freecss, who was left behind, shook her head with small smile. _"What an interesting character you are, Yuki Kura. I feel like life is gonna change now that you came in our lives. I just hope it's a good change."_

 **ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ** **TO BE CONTINUED ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ**

Author's Note: See, it's completely different from the previous stories. You got more background and you know more than Gon right now. And I decided on more background because I love Ging Freecss so it's pretty biased. Oh, and updates are gonna be irregular but if you're patient enough, then I'll be happy.

 **Next chapter: Chapter 1: Meet Then Embark**

 **Expectations on Chapter 1: Three Years, Hunter Exams, Future Allies**

See you next time! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	2. Meet Then Embark

Author's Note: Ha! I expected that, bitches! Alright, let's get started!

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

 **Chapter 1: Meet Then Embark**

 **ヽ** **(** **ー** **_** **ー** **)** **ノ** **THREE YEARS LATER** **ヽ** **(** **ー** **_** **ー** **)** **ノ**

It was pretty much a normal day in Whale Island. The sky was blue, not much clouds, and the vendors and fish mongers were busy with their fishes. There was one certain boy, however, who was busy with his own fishing.

Gon Freecss was sitting on a large branch with leaves covering his whole hair and some parts of his body. He was calm and quiet, patiently waiting for his prey to catch his bait. He was so still that a pair of doves decided to rest on the pile of leaves on his hair.

He wasn't thinking of anything really. He felt at peace with nature surrounding him. And of course, he felt safe with the sleeping body beside him. He glanced at it briefly, only using his eyes to look at Yuki Kura.

Gon felt himself smile. When he first met Yuki at the harbor about three years ago, he knew that there was a certain connection between him and her. He didn't know what connection it was but it was there and it only got stronger through the years. He loved Yuki as if she was his long-lost older sister. They became close quickly and he learned a lot from her trainings and some lectures.

However, he noticed that sometimes Mito-san and Baa-chan (his grandmother that lives with them, too) would talk quietly to each other while glancing at Yuki. He would hear something like "Yuki and Ging" which was odd because it didn't make sense why Yuki and his father's name were together at the same time. This concerned him but at the same time, it didn't. He wasn't sure if Yuki was aware but since she doesn't say anything about it, he doesn't bring it up. But all in all, the three years they've been together-living in the same house, training together, eating food at the same time-have been the happiest for him because he never had friends close to his age (even though the age gap is quite large, it isn't that large so they still got along well).

Gon felt a light tap on his forehead. "Still thinking hard? I thought I told you to meditate?" He looked at Yuki, who was now sitting up with her legs crossed, and smiled a bit.

"Sorry. I just remembered some things."

"Some things, huh?" Yuki chuckled then stretched her arms. "No signs of the so-called Lord of the Lake?"

"None. We'll have to wait some more." Gon held on to his fishing rod and the two of them waited in silence except for the occasional animal noises and breezes flowing through the leaves.

Suddenly, a ripple came out and that was the sign for Gon to take action. When his hook was pulled downwards, he let out a shout of "Got him!" and pulled hard, making the doves on his head fly away from the noise. He circled the trunk of the tree where he was sitting to get some more stability in pulling the line.

Yuki smiled at the efforts Gon was doing. She knew how important it was for him to catch the damn fish and decided to not help him with it (she wasn't even good at fishing anyway). She just decided to keep him company since it was more amusing than lying on the grass, sunbathing like a cat.

Gon was pulled forward, and almost hit his face on the tree, by his prey but he immediately used his foot to get some more leverage. Until he was red in the face, he pulled and pulled until he managed to circle the string at a branch. From that, he managed to pull out a giant blue carp-like and shrimp-like fish that both Gon and Yuki couldn't understand what it really was.

Gon cheered at his success while Yuki just commented, "Well, that was anti-climactic."

And with that, Gon carried the Lord of the Lake in his hands above his head and headed fast to the wet market. Yuki ran beside him.

 **))))** **彡** **))))** **彡** **))))** **彡**

"Whoa, that's huge!"

"That's the Lord?! It's really big."

"Damn, to get a huge one is fucking difficult. Gon sure is lucky."

"Mmmm, it looks so delicious!"

Yuki knew the innuendo behind those comments (it wasn't a big surprise that the fish mongers were the biggest perverts in the island) and laughed at Gon's face which was smiling, although a bit confused, at the comments.

"It's been twenty years since it was last caught, right?"

"Yeah, and it was Ging, Gon's father, who was the same age as Gon when he caught the fish."

"Like father, like son, huh?"

Gon's grin widened at that. He didn't expect that most of the people in the island knew that Ging was his father (though they said it was obvious from the appearance alone and they knew that Ging didn't have much relatives). He heard a few stories here and there about his father (also from Yuki who told him that she travelled with him for some time but he was curious on the tint of red on her cheeks whenever they talked about him) and was determined to meet him.

And to do that, he must pass the Hunter Exams. But before he could do that, he needed his form filled out and signed by Mito-san.

"Look, Mito! Gon really caught the Lord of the Lake!" One of the vendors shouted and the crowd shifted until Mito appeared with a forced poker face on.

"Mito-san! Mito-san!" Gon ran to her front and spread his arms wide. "I caught the Lord of the Lake, as promised! I can take the Hunter Exams, right? Right?"

Mito closed her eyes then opened them to look at Gon's still big brown eyes, so full of burning determination and stubborness that was a family trait. There, she knew that she didn't stand a chance, especially with Yuki who would really help Gon take the Exams with or without her consent. She gazed up to Yuki and she saw the blonde smile and raise her hand (the index and middle fingers together with the other fingers down) to a salute. And that just sealed the deal.

Gon knew that he did it so he said, "I'll do my best! And I promise I'm going to be a Hunter!" He ran towards the path towards their home where he would announce the news to his grandmother.

"Gon! Wait for me, damn it!" Yuki shouted and ran after him. When she passed Mito, she heard the whisper: "Take care of him, please". She just smirked and ran, knowing that Mito-san understood that she will, even if she didn't say that.

 **［** **(** **－－** **)** **］** **zzz** **［** **(** **－－** **)** **］** **zzz** **［** **(** **－－** **)** **］** **zzz**

It was close to sunset. While Gon took an afternoon nap, Yuki lazily pulled herself up from the bed they were lying on and went outside to get some water. Before she could go to the kitchen, she heard Baa-chan muttering while sipping on her tea with Mito-san just sitting silently. She stopped and leaned on the wall to listen.

"It must be in the blood." Baa-chan shook her head wistfully. "No one has been able to catch the Lord of the Lake since Ging caught it when he was eleven. Now, Gon accomplished that at the same age." There was a slight pause then Baa-chan continued. "His eyes have the same shine in them as his father's."

Yuki felt herself smile softly at that. That much was very true. She knew firsthand how determined and stubborn Ging could be. And despite their too-dangerous-jobs-that-needs-more-rewards-but-instead-the-danger-keeps-going-up, when they finished a mission, she would see how Ging's eyes would sparkle with true happiness, knowing that they did a good job and all the pain and effort were worth it.

She could see that sparkle in Gon's eyes. Hell, she just saw it earlier when Gon caught the Lord of the Lake. Even the littlest things where Gon finds his happiness made his eyes look like as if they were precious jewels. _'Much like the Scarlet Eyes.'_ She thought, feeling the irony.

Yuki heard the thump of a mug on the table. She stealthily looked from the doorway and saw Baa-chan look at Mito with her wise old eyes that may be slowly losing eyesight but still haven't lost the wisdom and hardness in them.

"We can no longer stop him, Mito. Especially Yuki-chan." Baa-chan closed her eyes then let out a breath. "Trust them, Mito. Have faith in them. They will take care of themselves and become stronger than ever."

Yuki looked away and walked to the kitchen, feeling warm from Baa-chan's words. She will make Gon stronger and take care of him. And she would be damned to a devil's balls if she did a half-assed job (Ging's choice of words, not hers).

 **(** **ﾉ≧∀≦** **)** **ﾉ** **(** **ﾉ≧∀≦** **)** **ﾉ** **(** **ﾉ≧∀≦** **)** **ﾉ**

Yuki smiled as she finished preparing her clothes for tomorrow. She and Gon were finally taking the Hunter Exams. They were finally gonna start their journey to hunting Ging Freecss a.k.a the selfish asshole who left his son to her care. She smirked at that and then looked for Gon.

She found him packing up though now, he was busy cleaning his fishing rod. "You got everything you'll need?"

Gon didn't look at her but she could hear the giddiness in his voice. "Yup. I'm so excited for tomorrow!"

Yuki smiled but she dropped the smile when Mito came in the room with a somber look.

Mito took a deep breath then let it out slowly. "Gon, are you really sure about this?"

Gon blinked but didn't stop cleaning. "Yeah, I am."

"You know that your father abandoned you just so that he could continue being a Hunter, right?"

"I know."

"Don't you at least feel angry at him for leaving you here just so that he could continue his dangerous job?!"

 _'Damn, Mito-san just snapped.'_ Yuki flinched a bit. _'I did not want to be in this fucking family drama.'_

"Isn't that amazing though?" Gon stopped cleaning and turned to look at Mito straight in the eye. "To him, being a Hunter is so great that he would abandon his own kid just so that he could continue without worry."

 _'Spot on, Gon.'_ Yuki nodded slightly at that. She really didn't asked details about Ging's reasons for leaving his son to his cousin but she got the gist from him.

"Being a Hunter is a dangerous job!" Mito shouted furiously. "You'll never know when you're gonna lose your life! Don't you understand that, Gon?!"

Gon gritted his teeth and gazed down. "I don't understand it but Yuki told me about it."

"Yuki?"

 _'Fuck...'_ Yuki sighed. "Mito-san, trust us on this. We really want to be Hunters-" _'Not me, actually. I just need the Hunter License.'_ "-and you know, deep inside yourself, that Gon is too stubborn and thick-headed to listen to you."

Mito frowned at that and sighed. "But still..."

"I really want to know!" Gon suddenly yelled. "I want to become a Hunter so that I'll know why it's so important to my dad!"

Yuki was shocked at that. Here she thought that Gon wanted to be a Hunter so that he'll get to meet his father but apparently, he wanted the thrill, excitement, and danger. _'He's practically an innocent and kind mini-Ging Freecss! This is too fucking hilarious and flabbergasting at the same time!'_ She bit her lip to keep herself from laughing out loud. It wouldn't do good in the mood.

Mito saw the fire in Gon's eyes. She saw the firmness, the resolution, and for a second, Ging's face flashed in her mind. She remembered how determined Ging was after he suddenly gave her a two-year old Gon. And she could see that in Gon at that very moment. She couldn't help but smile sadly and say, "You really are Ging's son..."

Gon calmed down and smiled a bit, not noticing Yuki who silently went back to her room, still stifling her laugh.

 **ヾ** **(** **・** **ω** **・ｏ** **)** **ヾ** **(** **・** **ω** **・ｏ** **)** **ヾ** **(** **・** **ω** **・ｏ** **)**

When Yuki woke up, she was surprised to see a pair of big brown eyes staring at her intensely. She cleared her throat and asked him, "What is it, Gon?"

"We have to go now or else, we might miss the ship." Gon said softly, knowing the hard way that being excited just after Yuki woke up was very bad.

Yuki grinned at Gon's thoughtfulness and ruffled his hair. "Alright, let's go." She stood up from her bed and got ready immediately after Gon went out of her room. She didn't have to do much but change clothes, wash her face, and brush her hair. She pocketed everything that she would need and then joined Gon who was outside at the porch with Mito-san and Baa-chan.

"No luggage, Yuki?" Baa-chan questioned at the sight of her hands not carrying any bag.

Gon laughed at that. "She told me before that when she and my dad first travelled together, they didn't bring anything at all."

"And you shouldn't but I decided that I'll confiscate it after we get our Hunter Licenses." Yuki grinned widely at that. "Survival 101, Ging Freecss and Yuki Kura Style."

"Oh that is a scary thought." Mito joked with a fake shudder. The others let out chuckles at that. Mito then sighed and beckoned both Gon and Yuki for a hug which they complied.

"I promise I'll pass the Hunter Exams and I will be a Hunter!" Gon told her with a huge smile. He was serious with this and no one could stop him.

Mito smiled back. "Can you also promise to come back here safely?" She raised her pinky finger, knowing that although it was childish, it assured her that it really was a promise.

"I can't guarantee that he won't come back here unscathed but I'll do my best to keep him in one piece." Yuki smirked and curled her pinky finger with Mito's.

"Yuki!" Gon whined but he smiled and did the same with his pinky finger. "But yes, I promise!"

They did the pinky swear exercise however, Gon and Yuki were shocked when they were pulled to a tight hug by Mito-san. Mito Freecss, their strict yet kind and strong aunt, held them in her arms, wishing that they didn't grow up so fast and that they wouldn't face the beautiful and cruel world out there. But she could only wish. When she felt them hug her back, she let her tears fall and prayed that they stay safe in their journey.

Baa-chan, who was just watching frrom the porch, just smiled and also prayed for their safety and happiness. Deep inside her, she knew that something good will happen to the two and she would continue to support them from the sidelines.

 **ー** **( ´ ▽ ` )** **ﾉ ー** **( ´ ▽ ` )** **ﾉ ー** **( ´ ▽ ` )** **ﾉ**

Gon excitedly waved back to the people who went to the harbor to see them off. The shouts of "good luck" helped boost his confidence in passing the Hunter Exams. He will not fail, and neither is Yuki. When he turned to tell her something, his jaw dropped when he saw Yuki toss a beaten-up man down to the sea.

"Yuki! Why did you do that?!" Gon shouted as he was slightly relieved to see the beaten-up man still alive and breathing albeit with difficulty because of his broken and bleeding nose.

"He groped my ass!" Yuki pointed at her butt in emphasis. "Just because I'm wearing a fucking mini-skirt doesn't mean that I'm a slut that opens her legs and holes to any cock!"

Gon blushed at her crude words. "Yuki! Keep it down!" He couldn't help but think, _'When she curses like that, she really fits in being a sailor.'_

A man sitting whistled and said, "Damn, I would love to feel that full ass."

"It's a total bubble butt." Another man agreed.

"Let's bet on how tight her anus is!"

"I bet it's really tight! She looks like an ass-virgin!"

"Nah, she's tight but she's not an ass virgin."

"You idiots! She's probably loose enough for a soda can to pop in."

Gon was blushing like crazy at that point and almost forgot that they were in a ship with people that would want to join the Hunter Exams.

Yuki, in the meantime, was having fun. In the three years that she was with the Freecss in Whale Island, her tendencies to go to bars and have sex lessened to barely two sessions in a month. It was difficult to get out of the house without telling someone her real reasons but she beared with it and managed to survive. But now, she was in a roll.

"Losers! All of you are fucking losers except for the guy that said I wasn't an ass-virgin anymore but I'm still tight."

"Fuck yeah! I won!" A guy in a suit and reading a porn magazine whooped in joy and smirked as money was thrown at his way.

Gon finally calmed down to a point when he heard an irritated huff beside him. He was a bit surprised to see a blonde guy that looked older than him but younger than Yuki's real age (which was nineteen). What caught him by surprise was how similar his eyes were to Yuki's. The only difference was that his was light brown while Yuki's was ocean blue. He heard him mutter, "So uncouth."

Gon decided to just keep quiet about it and slowly made his way to Yuki to pull her away from the crowd of men.

 **(** **｡・** **/ε/** **・｡** **) (** **｡・** **/ε/** **・｡** **) (** **｡・** **/ε/** **・｡** **)**

After calming Yuki down so that she wasn't being insane, Gon kept his hand on her arm so that he could keep an eye on her (even if it supposed to be the other way around). He stopped walking abruptly when he looked down the deck and saw two sailors teasing a lanky sailor that was carrying a crate of green apples. He felt Yuki stop beside him and also looked down.

"What are you doing, Katsuo? You look like a fool bending over like that!"

"He looks like a whore begging to be taken in the ass."

The two sailors laughed while the lanky man, Katsuo, flushed and began scrambling to get the fallen apples that fell from his crate.

Yuki snorted at how pathetic the Katsuo guy looked. She yelped a little when she felt Gon poke her for that.

"Hey, you good-for-nothing shitbags! Get back to work!" A door slammed open, revealing a fat guy drinking alcohol from a flask. The sailors stopped laughing and stuttered out an, "Aye, Captain!" before getting back to their jobs. The fat guy clicked his tongue in annoyance and put his eyes on Katsuo. "Get your ass to work, too, buster!"

"Aye, Captain!" Katsuo exclaimed and stood up with the crate.

"Wait!" Gon shouted and went down to get one of the apples that rolled farther. He grabbed it then tossed it to Katsuo, who caught it in his crate.

"T-Thanks!" Katsuo smiled then waddled away since the crate was pretty heavy.

The captain turned to see who did that and saw a young boy and a blonde girl that he knew by face. "I think I saw you from somewhere, lass."

Yuki raised an eyebrow but when she saw the flask, she stuck her hand out in a demanding fashion. The captain didn't really mind sharing so he gave her the flask which she drank from greedily as if it was the last alcohol she would drink in her life.

Gon was about to stop her when he heard the caws of seagulls above them. He raised his eyes up and sniffed the air. His eyes widened in shock. "There's a huge storm coming!"

"What?!" Yuki exclaimed then threw out the empty flask behind her, accidentally hitting a man and knocking him out unconscious.

"How did you know, kid?!" The captain asked, surprised at the news.

"That's what the seagulls are saying. And I can smell the wind." Gon replied.

 _'Is he fucking serious? Those eyes...'_ The captain shook his head. _'Is he really...'_ He snapped out of his thoughts and began shouting orders at his lackeys. Yuki, Gon, and everyone else ran down to take cover.

 **、ヽ｀ヽ｀、ヽ｀｀、ヽ｀、ヽ｀ヽ｀、、ヽ｀ヽ｀、ヽ｀｀、ヽ｀、ヽ｀ヽ｀、、ヽ｀ヽ｀、ヽ｀｀、ヽ｀、ヽ｀ヽ｀、、ヽ｀ヽ｀、ヽﾏｯﾃｪ** **(** **ノ；** **Д** **；** **)** **ノ ｀、、ヽ｀ ヽ｀、ヽ｀｀、ヽ｀、ヽ｀ヽ｀、、ヽ｀ヽ｀、ヽ｀｀、ヽ｀、ヽ｀ヽ｀、、ヽ｀ヽ｀、ヽ｀｀、ヽ｀、ヽ｀ヽ｀、、ヽ、ヽ｀ヽ｀、ヽ｀｀**

The storm was vicious, really fucking dangerous, and annoying as hell. While the captain steered the ship on the huge tsunami-like waves, everyone else was under the deck, trying not to keel over and vomit from seasickness. The keyword "trying" was not applicable anymore since most of the men were lying down on their stomachs or just fainted from trying hard.

After a particular huge wave, the captain gave the steering wheel to one of his lackeys while he went down to inspect. He was fucking disappointed with his lousy crew that were green on the face and he was annoyed the sight of the men on the floor he saw when he got there.

"Here are some herbs for you. Just chew on them and you'll be fine." The captain curiously looked around then saw the young boy who smiled as he offered some leaves to a man leaning his back on the wall with a sickly expression. "Yuki, I need some water here!"

The captain saw the blonde girl- _'Yuki Kura, the Assassin Princess. I knew it was her.'_ -who was grumbling how she didn't want to be like a waitress who gave service water to the people who don't order drinks. It made the captain chuckle but he wasn't surprised to see her following what the young boy said.

The captain heard a small creaking and saw a blonde guy lying on a hammock, reading a book calmly. Then he turned his head to see a man in a business suit spit out something and heard mutters of how sour the apple was or something in between. He smirked as he looked at the four who weren't down and thought, _'A bunch of tough nuts, huh? They look pretty special.'_

"T-Thanks, kid." The man who was leaning on a wall told Gon.

"No problem!" Gon smiled widely. "You should thank Yuki, too, since she gave you water."

Yuki just shook her head. "Nah, no thanks needed. Better this than having nothing to do while a storm is raging up there."

Kurapika Kurta discreetly looked up from his book to look at the two who were helping the men who were sick. He didn't mind the young boy but whenever he saw the blonde girl, he couldn't help but feel something nostalgic inside him. He felt like he knew her from somewhere but he shook himself out of it. He didn't know her though he was curious about her and the boy with her.

Leorio Paladiknight gave up on eating the sour apple with a grimace. He was hungry so he decided to steal one but he couldn't take the sourness. Though, he could say he lost his appetite because of the people surrpunding him that were seasick. The smell of vomit and the sickly atmosphere didn't bode him well. What lifted his spirits up was the blonde lady that he betted on. The lady with the not-virgin-yet-still-tight ass. He wouldn't call her a girl even if she looked like sixteen. With those curves and her attitude, she probably skipped the embarrassing part of puberty and just went with the flow. He was curious about her and the boy she was with who was helping the seasick men.

 **(** **」・** **ω** **・** **)** **」** **(** **」・** **ω** **・** **)** **」** **(** **」・** **ω** **・** **)** **」**

The captain stroked his chin as he looked at the four people that he called from below. Those four who caught his eye and were the only ones who didn't become sick through the storm which was still ongoing. He called them up to the supposedly "control room" where the steering wheel was.

The captain huffed then said, "Tell me your names."

"I'm Gon!" The young boy raised his arms up in the air.

"I'm Yuki." The blonde girl smiled a bit.

"I'm Kurapika." The blonde guy replied curtly.

"I'm Leorio." The man in the business suit grunted out.

"Alright. Why do you want to become Hunters?"

"Hey, wait a minute." Leorio pointed a finger at the captain. "If you're not an examiner, you have no right to boss us around."

"Just answer the fucking question, dumbass. It's just a simple question, goddamn it." The captain growled out.

Leorio grumbled under his breath. Gon raised an eyebrow in confusion but he smiled and answered, "My dad is a Hunter. I left Whale Island so that I'll figure out why he left and became a Hunter instead."

 _'Whale Island... I knew it. He's really Ging's son.'_ He eyed Yuki who was twirling her bangs in boredom. _'This boy is very lucky to have someone like Yuki Kura on his side.'_

"Hey, brat!" Leorio called Gon. "You shouldn't have answered his question, damn it."

Gon gaped then told him, "Why shouldn't I?"

Leorio sighed, shaking his head on the kid naivety. "Idiot. I don't want him to know why I'm here."

"I agree with Leorio." Kurapika stated.

"Hey, aren't you younger than me?" Leorio forgot Gon and focused on the blonde guy. "Show me some damn respect."

"It's easy to avoid pesky questions by saying a plausible lie."

"Did you just ignore me?!"

"However, it is quite shameful to just use deceit. If I were to say my true reason, then I will be exposing my deepest and darkest secrets." Kurapika clenched his hand on his chest before relaxing. "So that is my reason for not answering your question."

Leorio gawked at him before shouting, "Hey! Don't just ignore me!"

The captain looked at Yuki with a raised eyebrow. Yuki, in the meantime, was still taking in who Leorio and Kurapika were. Leorio was the one who betted about her ass. From what she gathered in the short time she knew him, he is short-tempered and immature but at the same time, he thinks logically and maturely. Not a really good combination but she could see it in the guy. Kurapika was more of a curiosity. She didn't know him but she could feel deep inside her that she knew him from back then. She was curious about him, and from the not-so-discrete look that he gave her earlier, she figured he was also curious about her.

Yuki sighed and unconsciously reached out to ruffle Gon's hair, deciding to just answer the question. "Well, my reason for wanting to be a Hunter is that I want to have a Hunter License, I want to keep an eye on Gon because he'll die early if I'm not with him, and I want to beat the shit out of a certain Hunter that decided that I would be the perfect babysitter."

Leorio and Kurapika raised an eyebrow at her reasons while Gon just laughed and leaned on the hand that was still ruffling his hair. The captain breathed out some smoke from his pipe and said, "And so, in other words, two people refuse to answer the question. Katsuo!"

The lanky man stood up straight and replied, "Yes, Captain?"

"Tell the examination board that we have two more dropouts."

Leorio spluttered out, "What do you mean?"

"Haven't figured it out yet, dumbasses? The Hunter Exams are already starting."

"What?!" Kurapika and Leorio exclaimed simulataneously.

"Many Hunter wannabe-fucktards join the Hunter Exams but the examiners don't have time to judge them one-by-one. And so, they hire people like me who, you could say, trim the fat. Hell, I already notified the board about those other shitheads below deck that are not fit to join. If they can't take a little storm, then how the hell can they survive the Exams? With that, you can't go to the Main Exams if I don't pass you here. Think carefully before you decide if you want to answer the question or not."

Yuki shrugged at that. "Well then, I don't really give a fuck about that now so can I pretty please have some of that whiskey you were drinking?"

"Sure thing." The captain tossed her a bottle of whiskey which she caught and immediately chugged on it. "Thirsty, aren't you?"

Gon chuckled at that but he subtly poked her with a silent message that meant, _'Don't even think about drinking all the time. I'll only allow you sometimes.'_ It made Yuki think of who's really older and in-charge between them.

"Should've said earlier, ugh." Leorio huffed angrily at the captain then at Yuki. He couldn't help it with Yuki. He wanted some whiskey, too, but he knew it was quite strong for him. He wondered briefly how she could handle that much alcohol in her system.

Kurapika was silently fuming inside but at the same time, he rationally knew that if he really wanted to pass the Hunter Exams, he needed to overcome the trials, no matter how hard they were. And so, he took a deep breath and said, "I'm the last survivor of the Kurta Clan."

Gon and Leorio looked at him in surprise but then their eyes, and the rest, turned to Yuki who coughed out the liquid that apparently went through the wrong tube. Gon went to her, patted her back, and asked, "Are you alright, Yuki? What's wrong?"

 _'What's wrong?!'_ Yuki wiped the liquid that trickled down her chin. _'I find out that this guy is a Kurta and the last survivor!'_ She groaned and fell to her knees dramatically. "Why do I feel like this isn't gonna be a normal Hunter Exams?" Because seriously, her life sucked. It was too full of surprises and adventures. Why can't she have a normal routine in her life?

Kurapika, Gon, and Leorio shared a confused look. The captain just laughed heartily at that and told Yuki, "Lass, there's no such thing as normal in the world of Hunters!" And he continued laughing hard.

Yuki flopped down on the floor on her side, nursing her half-full (or half-empty whatever bullshit psychology that is) bottle of whiskey. "Go ahead and continue. Sorry for my actions. I guess I'm getting drunk or maybe getting more insane."

"Okay..." Kurapika was pretty much weirded out by Yuki but he continued anyway. "Four years ago, my clan was massacred by a group of criminals. I want to be a Hunter so that I could hunt down that group, the Genei Ryodan."

"So you want to become a Blacklist Hunter, huh?" The captain glanced at Yuki before returning his gaze to Kurapika's. "You know, the Genei Ryodan is a notorius band of criminals. They're high-class bounties. A sane Hunter wouldn't bother to hunt them. You're just throwing your life away."

"I do not fear death. I fear that this rage inside of me will fade away." Kurapika answered with no hesitance, his brown cat eyes flashing scarlet in a second before returning to normal.

"It's a legit!" Yuki exclaimed when she saw those eyes. She was happy, more than happy. She was giddy...and the alcohol wasn't helping at all. "To see those eyes again, how nostalgic."

"What do you mean?" Kurapika questioned in shock.

Yuki giggled then stared at his eyes seriously. "Oh nothing. I'm slowly getting drunk right now so you shouldn't take my words to heart, sweetie."

But Kurapika couldn't help but think that this Yuki girl knows a hell lot more than nothing and because of that, he became cautious of her though his curiosity now peaked.

Leorio just snorted at the exchange between the two blondes. "So, you just want revenge, huh? Why do you need to become a Hunter just for that?"

"That has got to be the stupidest question I have ever heard, Leorio." Kurapika shook his head in dismay.

"That's Leorio-san to you!"

"Places that can't be accessed by civilians, information that is hidden from the public, actions that are questionable within the society, and many others. I'm not sure if your brain can handle these reasons."

Leorio was growling low within his throat, his annoyance rising to a level. He stopped when a hand suddenly appeared in front of his face.

Gon smiled widely, glad that he calmed Leorio down before he raged. "Why do you want to become a Hunter, Leorio-san?"

"Oh, this I gotta hear." Yuki commented with a smirk.

"You wanna hear my reason, kid?" Leorio grinned. "I want money."

"Eh?" Gon didn't expect that at all. He couldn't help but cringe when he saw Yuki standing up with her smirk widening.

"Money makes the world go round! You can get anything with money!" Leorio shouted.

"That's the spirit!" Yuki wrapped an arm around Leorio's waist. "Money is the best!"

Leorio was shocked by Yuki's actions but then, he became amused when he saw that her smirk was genuine. He never thought that she would agree with him, let alone even wrap an arm around his waist. "You can buy a big house..."

"A nice car..." Yuki continued with a smirk. And together, they smiled and said,

"ALL THE GOOD LIQUOR IN THE WORLD!"

"But then, you can't buy class with money, Leorio." Kurapika interjected, breaking the happy atmosphere.

Yuki felt herself pushed away gently by Leorio who was glaring at Kurapika with real anger in his eyes. She went to Gon's side, not wanting to get caught up in the incoming fight. Beside her, Gon became worried for Kurapika and Leorio.

"You really don't learn, huh?" Leorio clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Fine, let's take this outside. I'll end the stupid Kurta Clan right here, right now."

Kurapika gasped then clenched his teeth in anger. "Take that back, Leorio!"

"It's Leorio-san to you, punk!"

Leorio walked out of the room with Kurapika following his steps quickly. The captain was about to call them back since they were not finished but he was cut off by Gon who said, "Let them go. They need to understand why the other is angry and why they are angry. We should let them settle it themselves. That's what Mito-san once told me."

"Sorry to burst your sudden words of wisdom bubble, Gon, but you do know that there is a storm outside which is getting worse, there's a waterspout coming towards the ship, and we're just letting them fight out there without even someone that could save them when they topple to the sea?" Yuki sighed when the captain started barking orders about lowering the sails and Gon was now pulling her up to the deck to 'keep an eye on them'. She swore that she never expected that a lot would happen in a span of hours after leaving Whale Island. _'Oh how I wish this could end right now but no, it just started.'_

While Gon and the other sailors helped each other in lowering the sails, Yuki went towards Kurapika and Leorio to 'keep an eye on them'. They were still arguing about how Leorio should take back his words and how Kurapika should show him some damn respect. The difference was that they took out their weapons-Leorio's was a dagger, Kurapika's was a pair of wooden Bokken swords. She was about to comment on being their referee when suddenly, her back slammed with another body that was taken by the strong winds of the storm.

Gon gasped when he saw Katsuo-san fly away because of the slippery floors and the strong winds and slammed towards Yuki that propelled their bodies towards the sea. He abandoned pulling the ropes and jumped overboard to catch Katsuo-san by his arms. Katsuo-san was almost convulsing in terror and Gon could see Yuki's two hands that were grasping the lanky man's legs tightly, almost embedding the nails on the skin. When his actions (his jumping overboard without a care) were finally understood by his brain, he almost panicked but he calmed down when he felt hands holding on to his legs. He looked back to see that Leorio and Kurapika were the ones holding on to him and on the ship. He looked down to see that Katsuo-san was unconscious and Yuki was in the sea, kicking her legs in order to not be swallowed by the waves and still holding tight on Katsuo-san's legs.

"Pull him up, Gon, goddamn it! You know I can't keep on kicking!" Yuki shouted madly.

"Sorry!" Gon grinned wryly, pulled Katsuo-san, and held on to his waist which helped Yuki a bit.

The sailors finished lowering the sails and ran towards Leorio and Kurapika, pulling them up and thinking how crazy some kids are.

 **ヽ（ ＾＾）人（＾＾ ）ノ ヽ（ ＾＾）人（＾＾ ）ノ**

After that incident, the storm weakened until it disappeared. The dark clouds were moving away, revealing a blue sky and the sun. Yuki and Gon were sitting on the floor with Leorio and Kurapika towering over them.

"You idiot!" Leorio flicked Gon on the forehead hard, making Gon cry out. "If we hadn't caught your legs, then you'll probably be shark bait or a floating corpse right now!"

Kurapika nodded and crossed his arms. "How reckless can you be?"

"But you did catch me, both of you did." Gon smiled widely. "Thanks!"

Leorio rubbed his head while mumbling a "Yeah" and Kurapika just closed his eyes. Then they heard someone call out, "Gon!"

"Katsuo-san!" Gon stood up to greet him.

"Thank you so much for saving me, Gon!" Katsuo bowed with a smile.

Gon shook his head. "I couldn't have done it by myself. These two helped you out, too." He pointed at Kurapika and Leorio.

"Thank you very much!"

Kurapika looked away from the bowing man. "No need to thank me."

"Yeah, I'm glad you're looking well." Leorio told him while chuckling.

"Yes! I'm going back to my station now." With another bow, Katsuo was about to run when he felt a hand clench around his ankle. He let out a creeped out sound when he saw Yuki glaring at him.

"You're fucking lucky that I'm not in a really bad mood or else, I would've killed you for body-slamming me towards the fucking sea in a motherfucking storm!" Yuki launched herself towards Katsuo but Gon saw the movement so he tackled her to the ground. Katsuo decided to take his leave then. "Come back here, fucking shitty coward!"

Gon just laughed. "Calm down, Yuki. At least you're still here, alive and kicking."

"Oh what-fucking-ever, Gon." Yuki looked up at Leorio and Kurapika then said blandly, "Thanks for saving me by saving Gon." She then whined out, "Now my hair is gonna get frizzy because of the saltwater!"

"Ha! Dumbass!" Leorio laughed out loud, clutching his sides.

Yuki was about to launch herself at Leorio but since she was still pinned down to the floor by Gon, she decided to just whine pitifully.

Kurapika shook his head in amazement on Yuki's actions before sighing and turning to Leorio. "I apologize for my rude behavior, Leorio-san. Sorry."

"What's with the sudden change?" Leorio stopped his laughing and blinked. He became flustered then said, "You sound like we're strangers. Leorio is fine." Kurapika snorted softly and smiled a bit but he was surprised when he heard Leorio say, "Sorry about earlier. I take back everything I said. It was wrong."

Kurapika smiled a bit. "No, it's okay. I forgive you, Leorio."

Gon couldn't help but smile happily now that Leorio and Kurapika got over their anger and they're getting along now. Yuki was also smiling though still grumbling about her hair.

Then, the captain appeared, laughing heartily. "I like you, guys. Here's the thing. I'll take you to the port nearest the exam site."

"Oh really? What about the exam you said?" Yuki asked as she started to get up from the floor.

"I told you before, I decide if you pass or not. And you four pass!"

Leorio grinned, Kurapika nodded with a smile, Gon cheered a "Yay", and Yuki just smirked and said, "Good. If the Hunter Exams are like these, then we're gonna have a problem."

Everyone else just laughed when they saw Yuki groan and whine about her frizzy hair. Gon offered to help her with that, which they saw Yuki's eyes widen then a wistful smile appeared before it was replaced by an approving grin.

And so, the adventures and misadventures begin.

 **ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ** **TO BE CONTINUED ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ**

Author's Note: See, irregular updates. Despite being a lazy ass, I'm a pretty busy person (for money, of course). But there, a chapter for you, bitches!

 **Next Chapter: Chapter 2: Quizzes Before The Finals**

 **Expectations on Chapter 2: Doki-doki, Monsters, Squabbles**

See you next time! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	3. Quizzes Before The Finals

Author's Note: Slowly... Slowly... Learn to crawl before baby steps...

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

 **Chapter 2: Quizzes Before The Finals**

Gon, Yuki, Kurapika, and Leorio looked around Dole Harbor which was apparently one of the closest locations for the Hunter Exams. While the last three slowly acquainted themselves from the boat ride, Gon went to the captain and shook hands with him.

"Thank you so much, Captain!" Gon exclaimed. "I had a good time."

"Same." The captain puffed out some smoke in consideration. "Oh, let me give you some advice as a token of gratitude. See that big ass cedar tree over there? At the top the hill? That's a shortcut to the exam site."

"Really?! A shortcut?! That's great! Thanks a lot, Captain!"

"Best of luck to you, boy." The captain winked.

"Take care!" Gon ran backwards to his friends, waving goodbye to the captain.

The captain stroked his beard with a smile. _'Don't worry, Ging. Your son has grown to be a respectable young man. You have Yuki to thank for that.'_ He chuckled. _'Good luck though when you meet them again.'_

 _ **( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)**_

"So the next destination is the big ass cedar tree over there." Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Why do I feel like I'm in a kiddy cartoon?"

"Don't remind us of that, please." Leorio groaned as he studied the huge map of Dole Island. "By the way, it says in this notice that the exam site is somewhere in Zaban City. The big ass cedar tree is in the opposite direction. What the fuck?"

"Are you sure that's what the captain said?" Kurapika asked Gon.

Gon nodded. "Yeah, he said to go there first."

"And where in Zaban City are we supposed to go? This notice is almost useless!" Leorio crumpled the paper in his fist.

"It is one of our tasks to find the exam site with only limited information. It's just one of the tests we have to take before we participate in the Hunter Exams." Kurapika explained.

"I know that! Sheesh!"

"Anyway, Yuki and I will go check it out." Gon started walking away.

"I'm sure that the captain knows what he's saying." Yuki added and trailed behind Gon.

"Hey! Where are you going?!" Leorio shouted then pointed behind him. "The bus to Zaban City is about to leave! We should just take that!" When the two just waved without looking back, Leorio grumbled out some curses.

Kurapika merely smiled at the grumble and followed the two. "I'm more interested in Gon and Yuki's reasons than the captain's advice. See you, Leorio."

Leorio huffed and walked towards the bus. "Whatever. It wasn't long but nice meeting you guys. Those kids..." He paused when he heard two men talking in an alleyway.

"So it is a trap."

"Fuck yeah it is. Those buses never arrived in Zaban City."

"Rookies always fall for it anyway."

"It's better that way than having those shit heads take the Hunter Exams."

 _'Goddamn it!'_ Leorio dragged his hand down on his face and ran to follow Yuki, Gon, and Kurapika.

 **\- =͟͟͞͞ =͟͟͞͞** **ﾍ** **( ´Д`)** **ﾉ** **\- =͟͟͞͞ =͟͟͞͞** **ﾍ** **( ´Д`)** **ﾉ** **\- =͟͟͞͞ =͟͟͞͞** **ﾍ** **( ´Д`)** **ﾉ**

"Alright! We get it, Leorio! Stop laughing like a lunatic!" Yuki punched Leorio's arm to make him stop his poor excuses on why he's suddenly with them.

"Ow! Okay, okay!" Leorio winced from the punch. It felt like he was punched by a maniac on too much steroids.

"This place is quiet...too quiet." Kurapika commented. They looked around and saw trash around and clothes hanging the lines attached to windowsills. It looked like it was supposed to be bustling with activity but strangely, there wasn't a single person around.

"There are people but they're hiding." Gon told them then they tensed up when suddenly, the wall split into two. A large cart rolled out with a bunch of people wearing freaky masks and holding musical instruments and an old lady on it.

"What the fuck?" Leorio blurted out.

The old lady stared at them evenly and said, "Doki-doki..."

"Doki-doki?" Yuki repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Doki-doki..."

"Doki-doki."

"The Doki-doki Two-Choice Quiz!" The old lady's eyes bulged out that they almost popped out of her face. The people wearing the freaky mask began playing their musical instruments which made Yuki, Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio gape in confusion. When the music stopped, the old lady closed her eyes and propped her chin on her entwined hands. "You guys are going to that big ass cedar tree, right? To get there, you must pass through this town and with that, I will ask you one question."

"Uh, what's going on?" Leorio questioned.

"You only have five seconds to answer." The old lady ignored the question. "Give the wrong answer and you're disqualified. You'll have to give up on taking this year's Hunter Exams."

"Ah, so this is part of the Exams." Kurapika smiled.

"Alright, I get it." Leorio grinned. "I happen to be a quiz expert." Then, he grimaced. "Wait, only one question?"

The old lady nodded. "You can only answer either one or two. Any other answer is considered wrong."

"So, wait a minute." Yuki interjected. "The four of us only share one question. Does that mean if one of us answers incorrectly, then all of us are screwed?"

Kurapika covered a cough as he slyly looked at Leorio. Leorio saw that and growled. Gon laughed and calmed them down by saying, "That's good since only one of us needs to know the answer. I'm not really good at quizzes."

Yuki laughed at that. "You're just not academically smart." _'But you're a clever little shit when you want to.'_

"Hey, can you hurry it up there?" A guy with a big nose suddenly walked up to them.

Leorio deadpanned. "Who the hell are you?"

"He followed us here from the harbor." Gon said with a smile.

"A stalker, huh?" Kurapika muttered and eyed the guy with a big nose with weary eyes.

"Whoa, no need to be so hostile." The guy with the big nose raised his hands in a surrendering fashion. "I couldn't help but overhear, you know."

"What would you do then?" The old lady asked.

"Let him go first." Yuki smirked. "That way, if he dies, we would know what to not do."

Leorio blinked at that then shrugged. "Works for me."

"I have no objections." Kurapika agreed. Gon nodded in agreement with him.

One of the masked men placed a box with a buzzer on it on the ground. The guy with the big nose went to it and readied himself.

The old lady closed her eyes as if she was bored. "Here's your question. Evil criminals kidnapped your mother and your lover. You can only save one. Choose one for your mother, choose two for your lover." Her eyes opened to dangerous slits. "Who will you choose?"

Gon, Yuki, Kurapika, and Leorio didn't expect that kind of question for a quiz. They thought it was a sort-of logic game but in reality, it was a question-that-makes-your-mind-blow. The guy with the big nose just smirked and pressed the buzzer. "The answer is one."

The old lady raised an eyebrow slowly. "Why is that so?"

"Because you can only have one mother. You can just replace the lover with another one."

After a short silence, the old lady said, "You may pass." She then pointed at her back where a road opened.

"You just need to tell her what she wants to hear." The guy with the big nose laughed mockingly and waved goodbye to them, walking down the road.

Leorio snapped at that. "That is all bullshit! That was the right answer?! Just need to tell the old lady what she wants to hear? And that's correct?! Don't give me that crap! I had enough of this dumb shit." He turned around. "I'll just find a new route to Zaban City."

"Too late, buster." The old lady told him. "If you refuse to take the quiz, you'll be disqualified."

"That's just ridiculous!" Leorio growled out angrily. "Different people expect different answers. There's no fucking right answer!"

Kurapika's eyes widened as he realized what the right answer was. He turned to shout at Leorio but he was stopped when the old lady yelled out, "Wait a minute!"

Yuki hummed softly as she also realized the answer. When she glanced at Gon, she saw he was really thinking hard so she left him like that.

"Not a word from the four of you. Only say the answer. Anything else and you're disqualified."

 _'Leorio, snap out of it!'_ Kurapika couldn't help but think in frustration. _'If you mess up this opportunity, it will be all over!'_

Leorio just scoffed and looked away.

The old lady cleared her throat. "Here's your question. Your son and daughter have been kidnapped. You can only save one. Choose one for your son, choose two for your daughter. Who will you save?"

 _'She's making a joke out of us. The nerve of this old bitch...'_ Leorio didn't want to play the stupid quiz contest whatever anymore. He was fed up with all the bullshit. If the old hag and her masked cronies won't move, he'll make them move. He eyed up a long piece of wood at the side then went to get it.

"Five..."

 _'Yeah, let's get a move on already.'_ Yuki thought, pulling her bangs.

"Four..."

 _'Go ahead and count down, old bitch.'_ Leorio gripped the wood hard.

"Three..."

Kurapika's eyes were telling the others silently that they shouldn't do anything rash.

"Two..."

Gon was thinking really hard with his arms crossed and head bowed. He wasn't hearing the countdown.

"One..."

Except for Gon, the others tensed.

"Zero! Time's up!"

Leorio ran towards the old lady in high speed, roaring and raising the piece of wood high. But before it could hurt someone, Kurapika was already in front of Leorio, blocking with his wooden Bokken swords. The old lady was only calm throughout the whole thing, almost not batting an eyelid.

"Don't stop me, Kurapika!" Leorio yelled out. "I want to teach this stupid fucking old hag about not playing with bullshit!"

"Settle down, Leorio!" Kurapika pushed him back slightly.

"And how am I supposed to settle down, huh?!" Leorio then felt a tug behind him. It was insistent until it pulled him down gently to sit on the ground. When he turned, he saw Yuki also on the ground, cross-legged with a serene expression. "What the hell, Yuki?"

Yuki patted his arms and smiled gently. "Calm down, Leorio, or else, you'll waste our right answer."

"...I don't even want to know why the fuck are you like that." Leorio couldn't help but comment. He felt a bit irked on why Yuki was acting all gentle and mother-like but he could tell that it was effective. He released the tension in his body with a sigh. "Wait! Right answer?"

"Yes." Kurapika told him and knelt down beside him. "The right answer is silence. You actually said it earlier. There is no right answer. And since we can only choose one or two, the only response we could give is by keeping quiet."

Leorio was flabbergasted and blinked stupidly. "But what about that guy earlier? With the big nose?" He shivered when he saw a smirk on Yuki's face. _'I don't even know if the gentle Yuki is better than the evil Yuki. Actually, I shouldn't think about this right now.'_

"He's probably getting himself killed over there." Yuki carelessly waved a hand, the gentle persona gone already. "The old lady just let him pass. She didn't really say if it's the right answer."

"Yuki Kura and the cat-eyed boy are both right." The old lady stood up and walked to the wall that split into two. "This is where the correct path is. It goes straight to the big ass cedar tree. Walk two hours and you'll reach the top. Simple as that."

"Oh, I see." Leorio slumped. He got worked up for nothing and it was tiring as fuck. Not to mention, he almost hit an old lady.

The old lady stopped herself from chuckling out loud. "There's a couple that lives in the cabin under the tree. They are navigators that can help you get to the exam site if you meet their standards."

Leorio dropped the remains of the piece of wood then bowed to the old lady. "I'm very sorry for my rudeness."

"Don't worry about it." The old lady tapped his shoulder and smiled. "I decided to do this job so that I could meet people like you. That's why you should give your best in becoming a good Hunter."

Leorio became flustered and rubbed his nape. Yuki laughed at that. Kurapika, however, was a bit suspicious. "How did you know Yuki's name? She didn't even introduce herself."

 _'Ah fuck.'_ Was the common thought between Yuki and the old lady.

Yuki discreetly made miming actions of keeping quiet about who she was. How the old lady understood that was probably because of old age and too much unnecessary wisdom. And so, the old lady just answered, "She's just a friend of an old friend of mine." The best lies are always the not-so-hidden truths.

Kurapika was still suspicious but he just nodded in acceptance. _'Yuki is hiding something. And I'll find out what it is.'_

"Wah!" Gon cried out as he sank to the ground tiredly. "It's no use. I can't really think of an answer."

Leorio laughed at that. "You're still thinking about it? You can stop now."

"And the quiz is over already." Kurapika added.

"I know." Gon pouted. "But what if I get into that kind of situation? I can only choose one. It's not right if I just pick one or the other. And even if you just backed away in silence, not saving either, now that's wrong. However, someday, we'll have to make that choice."

Leorio and Kurapika both looked down, the heavy weight of what Gon just said in their minds. Naively, they thought that was it when they answered the quiz correctly. But then, what if it really did happen in the future?

Yuki sighed out loud. "There's no use in thinking about it now. Sure, it can be possible in the future but that's just it. It's in the future. We're in the present now." She then walked to Gon and ruffled his hair. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, we have to get ourselves to the big ass cedar tree then to the exam site so we can finally be Hunters."

Gon grinned at that, regaining his happiness. "Right!"

 _'That's the true purpose of this quiz.'_ The old lady thought to herself as she watched them prepare. _'You must be ready to face any worst case scenarios because that's when reality strikes hard the most.'_

Kurapika smiled, a little wryly, on what Yuki just said. "I agree on that. Let's go then."

After they waved goodbye aand started walking on the correct path, Leorio questioned Yuki. "Why do I feel like you're pretty damn famous? Everyone that we have met knows you and your name."

 _'That's because I_ am _famous. I should make a joke right now.'_ Yuki slyly looked away. "Well, maybe it's because of those videos and magazines." _'Oh, it's still truth somehow. Very nice.'_

"What kind of magazines and videos, Yuki?" Gon asked curiously. "You never showed them to me back in Whale Island."

"Wait, is it _those_ kind of magazines and videos?" Leorio's mind was reeling.

Yuki laughed at that. "Who knows? Maybe I would show them to you someday." Leorio gawked at that and blushed.

 _'Yup, she really is hiding something.'_ Kurapika nodded to himself and crossed his arms.

 **ヾ** **(** **ｏ･** **ω** **･** **)** **ﾉ ヾ** **(** **ｏ･** **ω** **･** **)** **ﾉ ヾ** **(** **ｏ･** **ω** **･** **)** **ﾉ**

"Goddamn, it's already dark." Leorio cursed as he dragged his feet to keep walking. "Two hours, she said. It was two hours, two fucking hours ago!" He saw another familiar sign. "And a 'Beware of Magical Beasts' sign...again. Shit, will we really make it to the exam site?! I'm hungry, thirsty, and I want to fucking sleep!"

"Shut the fuck up already, Leorio!" Yuki shouted and threw the nearest stick from her to his head which whacked his forehead. It was only thrown hard enough to bruise. "You think you're the only one like that? You piece of dumb shit!"

"What did you just call me, you bitch?!"

"You. Piece. Of. Dumb. Shit!"

"Well, you're nothing but a blonde bimbo!"

"Did you just call me a fucking bimbo?!"

"Bimbo! Bimbo! Bimbo!"

"Yuki, Leorio, we'll leave you behind if you keep fighting!" Gon yelled.

Kurapika sighed and rubbed his forehead, thinking that his companions are a bunch of kids. Oh wait, they are a bunch of kids, in the eyes of the adults. Then, he saw a cabin and a really huge cedar tree in front of them. He refused to call it the 'big ass cedar tree'. "Hey, I see it!"

Yuki and Leorio paused at their growling at each other then huffed away. Gon just laughed while Kurapika sighed again. The four of them went to the front door and knocked.

"Anyone home?" Leorio called out.

"Maybe they're out?" Gon said.

"We'll see. We're coming in." Yuki took hold of the doorknob and turned it. Apparently, it was not locked. What they saw inside was not what they were expecting.

Everything inside the house was destroyed to pieces. The wooden walls were clawed in various places. And a tall furry creature with long legs and claws was clutching a woman's neck to the point of choking her.

"It's a Transforming Magical Beast, a Kiriko! It's a very intelligent creature who is able to take a human form." Kurapika told them and took out his wooden Bokken swords.

Leorio saw a bleeding man on the floor, almost unconscious. "Shit! That guy needs medical attention."

The Kiriko cackled and jumped out of a window, taking the woman with him. Gon and Kurapika ran to the now broken window while Leorio and Yuki went to the bleeding man.

"P-Please." The bleeding man rasped out, his eyelids drooping and losing consciousness steadily. "S-Save my wife."

"Leorio! Yuki! We'll leave the injured guy to you!" Kurapika ordered and then, he and Gon jumped out to run after the Kiriko.

"Wait, what?!" Yuki was not really good at fixing up things, may it be medical related or just plain mending broken things. She should've run out with Gon and just left Kurapika here.

"Calm down, Yuki!" Leorio hand-chopped the top of her head. "You don't know first aid, at least?"

"I know that. It's just that, I'm not really good with medical shit." Yuki had no choice so she sucked it up and looked over the man's wounds. When she saw the claw wounds on his stomach, she pressed it down to prevent more blood loss. She also checked his head, eyes, pulse, etc. She might not be knowledgeable with medical shit but she knows how to survive.

Leorio raised an eyebrow at that. _'She knows what she's doing. Maybe she had this kind of accident before?'_ He shook his head then opened his briefcase to take out some bandages.

Yuki saw the slight movement and felt her lips quirk up. _'Well damn. Who would've thought that he would know medical shit?'_ She looked out the forest with narrowed eyes. _'But this whole Kiriko shit is suspicious.'_

 _ **(ↀДↀ)⁼³₌₃ (ↀДↀ)⁼³₌₃ (ↀДↀ)⁼³₌₃**_

While they were running after the creature, Kurapika was impressed on how Gon can run through the dark while occasionally glancing at the jumping shadow. He was even more impressed when suddenly, Gon jumped on the branches of the trees like the Kiriko.

Gon managed to follow the magical beast. "Kiriko! Let her go!"

The Kiriko laughed at that and told him, "Then take her from me, if you can!"

"Ah!" Gon was surprised at how the Kiriko talked and so, he missed the branch and fell down to the ground.

Kurapika's eyes widened when he saw Gon fall and immediately stood up to run again. _'That's quite amazing.'_

"It's awesome! The Kiriko can talk!" Gon told him excitedly.

"Well, Kirikos use human speech." Kurapika informed him.

"Then that makes things easier!" Gon smiled and jumped up to the trees again. "Hey! Silly Kiriko!"

"What the fuck?" The Kiriko turned to look at the boy. At first, he was still below but after a second, he was now at his level with a fishing pole out. _'He's fast!'_

Gon swung his fishing pole and hit the magical beast's head, which loosened the arms carrying the woman, dropping the body. "Kurapika! Catch her!"

Kurapika jumped up high and caught her easily. He sighed and shook his head. "He's so reckless. It's a good thing that I managed to catch her."

The Kiriko rubbed his head to ease the pain. "Damn kid! You'll pay for this!" And he jumped away.

"Wait!" Gon jumped after him.

Kurapika's eyes followed them until they disappeared through the foliage. He lowered the woman's body and asked, "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine." The woman turned to him worriedly and clutched his clothes. "What about my husband? Is he alright?"

"Don't worry. Our friends are taking care of him and his injuries." Kurapika soothed but then, he saw the tattoos on the woman's arm. "Those marks are-"

"Kurapika!"

The blonde teen turned and saw Leorio running towards them. "Leorio!"

"Phew, I'm glad you guys are alright." Leorio panted out.

Kurapika, however, was skeptical. "How's the injured man? And where's Yuki?"

"He's fine. His wounds aren't that deep. I gave him some painkillers, bandaged him, and let him rest. And Yuki stayed so she could keep an eye on him. There might be more of those magical beasts."

"I see." Kurapika's eye twitched and he swung his Bokken sword, hitting Leorio at the face. The woman gasped at that.

"How did you know? That I was just an impostor." The fake Leorio shifted until it turned into a Kiriko.

Kurapika scoffed. "I didn't know you were an impostor. I told Leorio and Yuki to take care of the injured man and I'm sure they did that. And as you said, there might be more magical beasts around. They wouldn't leave an injured man. If they were suddenly attacked, Yuki will surely take on the offense but then who will defend the injured man? That's Leorio's job. I hit you because you stupidly left an injured man. That's all there is to it."

The Kiriko blinked then laughed out loud at that and jumped away. Kurapika then turned to the woman and placed one of his Bokken swords at her neck. "Alright, tell me. Who are you?"

The woman's eyes widened but then, she smirked.

 **（￣□￣；） （￣□￣；） （￣□￣；）**

"Wait! Kiriko!" Gon shouted, still jumping from one branch to another to follow the magical beast. When the creature hopped into a bush, he followed but he flailed when he saw that he was going to fall off a cliff. Luckily, he was holding his fishing pole so he managed to swing it to let the string hold on to a branch. He pulled himself up and landed on his feet.

The Kiriko, who was watching from the top of a tree, chuckled in amusement. "You're pretty agile for a kid. I didn't expect you to hit me." Gon blinked, feeling confused, and looked around. The Kiriko jumped off and landed in front of the boy, claws out. "And now, you will taste the price for that accomplishment!"

But before the claws landed, Gon asked the Kiriko, "Who are you?" The magical beast paused and blinked in surprise. "You're not the one I hit. Are you his friend?"

The Kiriko slowly straightened up. "How did you know that I'm not the same one you hit earlier?"

"Your face is different." Gon pointed out. He sounded really sure with what he's saying. "And your voice is a little higher and thinner."

The Kiriko couldn't help but laugh really loudly. In between laughs, he yelled out. "Hey, sweetheart! This kid is the bomb! You're gonna love what he just said to me!"

Gon was still feeling confused and just ruffled his hair.

 **( ◐ω◐ ) ( ◐ω◐ ) ( ◐ω◐ )**

Gon, Yuki, Kurapika, and Leorio met up at the front of the cabin. They stood in front of the Kirikos who were still feeling amused.

"How long has it been since the last time someone differentiated us?"

"Too long. I'm so ecstatic!"

Leorio side-glanced Yuki and Kurapika. "Hey? Can you tell how different their faces and voices are?"

Kurapika shook his head while Yuki answered, "Hell no."

Gon turned to them with a smile. "The one Kurapika and I followed was the husband."

 _'And we're asking, which one is it?'_ Yuki, Kurapika, and Leorio thought.

"Allow us to introduce ourselves." One of the Kirikos said. "We are the navigators. Our family helps and supports the Hunter Exams. And these are our children."

"Wow. You had us fooled." Leorio commented.

"The Hunter Exam site always change every year. It's quite difficult to go to."

The other Kiriko added, "And that's why we are here to help the applicants to get there."

"So that's how it is." Gon smiled in understanding.

"But we don't help out just anyone." The woman, who was the daughter, shook her head.

"We test them out if they really are qualified to take the Hunter Exams." The man, who was the son, said.

"Kurapika-dono successfully used the vaguest hints in figuring out that we weren't spouses." The woman pointed to her tattoos. "In this region, these marks symbolize that a woman must remain single for the rest of her life. Kurapika-dono showed that he is very knowledgeable and so, he passes."

Kurapika sighed out in relief. "Thank you."

"Good job, Kurapika!" Gon cheered while Yuki and Leorio gave him a thumbs-up.

"Yuki-dono and Leorio-dono." The man smiled when he saw Leorio stiffen. "You two didn't figure out my true identity-" Yuki and Leorio winced at that. "-but I sensed that Yuki-dono was feeling suspicious of the whole scenario. And also, Leorio-dono and Yuki-dono dressed up my injuries faster and more thoroughly than a regular doctor. Leorio-dono even reassured me that my wife was safe and okay. Leorio-dono's kindness and Yuki-dono's helpfulness make you both worthy to take the Hunter Exams. You two pass."

"Damn, that's embarrassing." Leorio blushed and looked away. "But thanks."

Yuki laughed. "To think that me being helpful makes me worthy to take the Hunter Exams is pretty funny." If her adoptive grandfather heard about this, he was gonna laugh his ass and mouth off.

The man laughed, too, understanding the joke. _'And of course, we can't really_ not _pass the Chairman's adopted granddaughter. That's practically a death sentence.'_

 _'There it is again.'_ Kurapika was now really itching to know what Yuki's secret was. But then, he realized something. _'I shouldn't think too hard about it. I'm pretty sure it's just a feeling.'_

"Finally, Gon-dono." One of the Kirikos said. "From your superhuman physical ability to your observation skills, you are worthy to take the Hunter Exams. You pass."

"Yay!" Gon jumped up and fist-bumped Kurapika, Yuki, and Leorio. "We did it!"

"I'm telling you, guys, I swear we're in a fucking kiddy cartoon." Yuki told them with a giggle.

"Oh shut up, Yuki! Please!" Leorio rubbed her head with a fist, earning him some ouches from the blonde girl.

"I'd like to second Yuki-dono's statement." One of the Kirikos said. "You can actually call this tree the 'Big Ass Cedar Tree'." And pointed to the right.

"Wait, what?!" Yuki and Leorio focused on what was being pointed and gawked. "It's even on a fucking sign?! It's a landmark?!"

Kurapika let out a huge breath and face-palmed while Gon just laughed. The Kirikos also laughed at their reactions.

"Alright, let's go to the exam site now." One by one, the Kirikos took form and let out their wings. Yuki, Leorio, Kurapika, and Gon went to one Kiriko and held on to their legs. And then, they were off in the sky.

"Isn't it awesome that we all managed to pass?" Gon told them.

"It's still too early to celebrate." Kurapika chastised. "We only managed the right to take the Hunter Exams."

"It's like we just got a fake ID to enter a club. But before we could get that fake ID, we had to do some stupid shit first." Yuki joked.

"Oh come on!" Leorio groaned. "There's no harm in celebrating even a little. I mean, how many candidates even get to the exam site?"

Kurapika sighed at their cheerfulness. "You guys should really take this seriously."

"Don't be such a hardass, Kurapika!" Leorio attempted to kick him, not helping the Kiriko he was holding on.

"Hey! If we fall, it's not my fault!" The Kiriko growled.

Gon was laughing happily. He was feeling ecstatic. They were now on their way to start the Hunter Exams. Even if they stilll weren't there yet, he knew that they will get there. And then, they will pass and he'll finally begin looking for his father. He glanced at Yuki, who was looking at the sky with a small smile. He also looked at the sky, smiling.

It wad gonna be a really long journey.

 **ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ** **TO BE CONTINUED ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ**

Author's Note: Yep, still irregular. I got really busy since it's June and yeah, whatever. Still crawling, bitches, still crawling.

 **Next Chapter: Chapter 3: Run Until You Drop**

 **Expectations on Chapter 3: Orange Juice, Moustaches, Beans**

See you next time! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	4. Run Until You Drop

Author's Note: Yuki is special and a bit demented (maybe not only a bit because of her upbringing) but thanks for your opinions, Ava and Guest. Baby steps, bitches, baby steps! Fuck yeah!

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

 **Chapter 3: Run Until You Drop**

Gon, Yuki, Kurapika, and Leorio finally arrived at Zaban City where the Hunter Exams site is. Finally, they could get started. The son of the Kirikos was left behind to direct them to the site. While the son was explaining some things about Navigators, Gon was looking around the different stores.

Apparently, Zaban City was having a bazaar. Gon was amazed on the different kinds of things that the city was selling, from exotic food to expensive jewelry. It was the first time he saw those kinds of knick-knacks since he never left Whale Island before. Yuki was behind him all the time, kicking away some pickpockets and perverts.

"You know, this Zaban City sure is shady." Leorio grimaced when he saw a man selling some kind of potion.

"Prosperous cities are always targets of shady people." Kurapika told him. Leorio nodded in agreement.

Despite that, Gon was still amazed. Yuki smiled at the boy's big, brown eyes filled with wonder and joy. _'He really is Ging's son, always the curious one.'_ She then sighed, having thought again of how Ging just threw her into the babysitting job. _'Damn that man and his stupidity.'_

"Yuki, let's go." Gon tugged on her sleeve, snapping her out of her thoughts. "We're gonna be left behind."

Yuki snorted and ruffled his hair. "That's because you're always stopping at every little shop we pass by."

Gon pouted but laughed. "But it's amazing! I didn't even know that there would be so much unique things."

"Yes, yes. Now, come along." Yuki pulled Gon towards Leorio, Kurapika, and the son of the Kirikos.

When the son stopped and pointed forward, they were amazed to see a very nice building that looked like a fancy hotel.

"Wow! It's so tall!" Gon exclaimed in astonishment.

"So this is where the exam site is, huh?" Leorio muttered with a small smile.

"And this is where all Hunter applicants go to." Kurapika said and clenched his fists.

"Our first shot in the Hunter Exams." Yuki smiled at Gon's determined face. _'Ging probably had the same face. Ugh, again with Ging? What is this? Remembering-assholes-and-regretting-shits day?'_

"Oi, that's not the place." The son of the Kirikos called out laughingly. "It's this one."

The four saw the rundown restaurant and they were really not expecting that.

"Hey, are you telling us to fucking believe that this ordinary restaurant is where the Hunter applicants go to for this year's exams?" Leorio grumbled.

"Yeah, I do." The son huffed. "Have some faith in me. I'm a Navigator after all. This is my job."

Yuki coughed slyly. "And probably don't get enough pay."

"Oh don't get started on that or we'll never stop, please." The son waved his hand. "Anyway, let's go inside. No one would suspect this restaurant to be the exam site, right?"

"That's true." Kurapika nodded in agreement.

They went in and they were greeted the customary 'welcome' from the chef. The restaurant really looked normal and the smell of food made them a bit hungry.

"Is the back room open?" The son of the Kirikos asked the chef.

The chef barely glanced at their direction. "What will you have?"

"The steak combo that opens the eyes to the light."

"For how many?"

"Four people."

"Oh, four people, huh?" The chef's eyes narrowed. "How would you like them?"

The son just smirked. "Grilled on low flame until it's cooked."

"Okay. Just go right in."

The four followed the son into the back room which was just a normal room with a circular table and four chairs. No people were around. However, the son just stayed by the doorway. "Alright, you guys wait here."

"Wait here? What about the others?" Leorio questioned.

"I can't wait to taste the steak combo!" Gon said with a wide smile.

"Gon, that's just the password to get us in here." Kurapika explained.

"Eh? So we won't eat then?"

"We went in a restaurant, ordered food, but we won't get it." Yuki sighed angrily. "Damn the Hunter Exams and their formalities for this shit."

"One in every ten thousand." The four looked at the son in curiosity. "That's the number of people who can make it this far in the Hunter Exams. You've done well for your first time."

Yuki nodded. "Thanks for your help."

"Yuki's right. Thank you." Gon stuck out his hand to the son who was flabbergasted but shook it nonetheless.

"I would be happy to serve as your Navigator next year as well." With a dip of his head, the son of the Kirikos left the room and closed the door behind him.

The room shook slightly and then started moving downwards.

"It would seem that this room is an elevator." Kurapika told them.

"Well, that man is a fucking bastard." Leorio growled out as he plopped down a chair. "He's practically expecting us to fail this year!"

"Once every three years."

"What is?"

"That a rookie passes the Hunter Exams."

Yuki also sat down and crossed her arms on her breasts. "The Hunter Exams vary every year, from their examiners to the things you're gonna do. It's pretty complicated and at the same time, unpredictable. Even if you ask veterans, you wouldn't get one straight answer. But one thing for sure: it's difficult as hell, no matter what."

 _'Seems like she knows what she's talking about.'_ Kurapika continued after nodding. "Some people can't handle the physical and mental strain of the exams. And also, the veterans break the rookies so that they won't be able to retake the exam again."

"I see." Gon frowned as he sat down, too. "I guess every applicant would do everything to become a Hunter."

"Of course, my friend!" Leorio shouted with a grin. "Hunters make the most money in the whole world."

"Nicely said, Leorio!" Yuki gave him a thumbs-up. "Imagine having that much money in you!"

"The best damn thing ever!" The two exclaimed together and high-fived.

Kurapika's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and broke the happy atmosphere. "Hunters are the most noble in the world! Money doesn't even count!"

Leorio hissed. "Glory hog!"

Kurapika hissed back. "Money grubbers! Both of you!"

Yuki gawked at that. "And you're an honor whore!"

Kurapika, Leorio, and Yuki glared daggers at each other, leaving Gon staring up at them with a bewildered expression.

"Gon, listen to me." Leorio leaned at his face. "Every year, more than half of the world's wealthiest people are Hunters."

Kurapika poked him away, gaining Gon's attention. "Second-rate Hunters only go for treasure and the hunting. True Hunters protect people and the natural order."

"No, that's not true." Yuki smacked her hand on the table, shaking it. "There are different kinds of Hunters and they have their own fields of expertise. Also, they are still human and have different attitudes in being Hunters." _'What Kurapika just described as second-rate is practically one of the greatest Hunters of all time. Goddamn it, not again.'_ "And most of all, you can buy almost anything with your Hunter License! Either free pass to different countries or free public transport!"

Kurapika huffed at that. "Hunters have many difficult and important responsibilities that ordinary and average people can't possibly do!"

"The fame and money! Those are the reasons why people want to become Hunters!" Leorio stated.

"Profound knowledge, a healthy state, and unyielding determination! Those are what Hunters pride themselves for!" Kurapika said.

"All of those above are reasons for people to be Hunters, god!" Yuki yelled out and flipped the table so suddenly that Gon, Kurapika, and Leorio stepped back and rammed to the wall. The table, as if in slow motion, back-flipped and landed on the floor in pieces.

After a short silence, Gon chuckled a bit awkwardly. He was used to Yuki's sudden explosiveness but it was still surprising. "Yuki, calm down. It was just a friendly argument."

"Ah fuck." Yuki groaned and fell down to her knees, what she did finally processing in her head. "Now I have to pay this shit."

"Are you an idiot? Why the hell did you do that?" Leorio went to her and smacked her on the head. Inside, he was still shocked at how the blonde girl easily flipped a table to make it break on the fall. _'She looks like a sixteen-year old girl and she's pretty slim. How strong is she?'_

Yuki pouted and rubbed her head. "Well, it's because I'm being contradictory and it sucks so I just had to say that." Then, she laughed. "Sorry about the outburst."

"It's alright." Kurapika shook his head wryly. He really didn't mind but he was surprised at how much strength Yuki has.

The elevator room dinged, making Leorio sigh and stand up. "We'll continue this argument next time."

"Alright." Kurapika said amicably. Gon and Yuki sighed in relief at that.

The door opened automatically and revealed what looked like an underground tunnel with pipes at the walls. Most of the people there turned to look at the four newcomers.

"Weird atmosphere here." Leorio noted as he eyed the other people.

"They are definitely different from the applicants we've encountered so far." Kurapika murmured. "Each of them have their own strength to use in the exams."

"Excuse me...um..." Gon wanted to ask something but the faces of the examinees were full of determination-to do anything just to become a Hunter-and they see everyone else as obstacles and enemy. He was intimidated but it excited him to experience the adventure.

"Everyone's tense as fuck." Yuki wasn't fazed by it at all. She experienced worse, much worse than some death glares.

Suddenly, a green jellybean anthromorphic being appeared out of nowhere in front of Leorio, holding out a white circle with the number 403 on it. "Hello. Please take this number."

Taking it, Leorio watched the small bean-man give out 404 to Kurapika and 405 to Gon. What shocked him more was not just the appearance of the small bean-man, but at Yuki's surprised gasp.

Yuki couldn't stop herself from gasping in happiness. Beans was in front of her, holding out the number 406 and saying with a smile, "Be sure to wear this on your chest and be careful not to not lose it..Yuki Kura."

"Beans! My favorite green jellybean anthromorphic being!"

"I'm the only green jellybean anthromorphic being in the world." Beans said jokingly.

"What about your siblings?"

"They're color blue and yellow, same as my parents."

"You did not just use sass on me, Beans."

"I learned some things through the years."

Yuki smiled widely and hugged Beans tightly. "I missed you, Beans."

"It's been a while, huh?" Beans hugged her back as tightly. The once little blonde girl was now close to being an adult. To him, it felt like the years just breezed by but he knew that Yuki was still the same Yuki he knew since the girl was just a baby. "I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you're still travelling?"

Yuki stepped out of the hug with a grimace on her face. "Let's not talk about travelling and anything else about that."

 _'Ging-san probably did something to her or the other way around.'_ Beans sighed at that but smiled. "But still, I'm glad you're alright."

"Same here." Yuki let out a giggle.

"Hey, I saw what you did in the elevator. I'm gonna take that out of your account." At Yuki's wince, Beans chuckled. "See you next time." He waved and walked away.

Gon was the first to approach. He was surprised at first but then, he shrugged mentally. _'Before I knew Yuki, she was already travelling with my father. She probably knows a lot of people from that.'_ "Yuki, you know him?"

"Ah yeah." Yuki scratched her cheek sheepishly. "Just someone I know."

"Is that so?" Kurapika asked. _'She's really hiding something, I swear.'_

"You two seem close." Leorio teased and bumped his arm to hers.

Yuki elbowed him lightly on the side. "Don't even go there. I don't even know if he has a dick."

"Yeah, let's not go there." Leorio didn't even know if the Beans guy was human or not.

"Hey! Haven't seen you guys here!" A short, fat guy called out from above. The four turned to him who was sitting on a large pipe. "Yo!"

"You can tell that we're new?" Gon asked.

"Well, so-so." The guy fell on his feet and walked towards them. "After all, I've been participating in the Hunter Exams for thirty-five years."

"Thirty-five fucking years?!" Leorio gawked at the number.

"Yup! You could say that I'm a veteran."

Yuki huffed out a small laugh and muttered to the three, "He just said that with a huge smile on his face. It's not really brag-worthy, to be honest."

"Indeed." Kurapika had to agree on that.

The short, fat guy just continued smiling. "If you have any questions, just ask. I'm Tonpa."

"Thanks, Tonpa-san." Gon smiled. "I'm Gon and these are Yuki, Kurapika, and Leorio. By the way, are there other examinees here who participated in the exams for a long time like you?"

"Well, I have the most experience here but there are other veterans here. There's number 255, Todo, who is a wrestler with brains and brawn. Then there's number 103, Bourbon, who is a snake charmer and tends to hold grudges for some reason. Oh, we also have number 191, Bodoro, who's getting old but still a great martial arts master. Don't forget the three brothers with amazing teamwork, Amori, Imori, and Umori. Also, number 384, Gerreta who is a huntsman. There are others but those are the more prominent veterans."

"Ah, I see." Gon and Tonpa continued talking about other things when suddenly, a scream was heard throughout the tunnel. It came from a man whose arms are suddenly turning into red flowers.

A red-haired man with a smirk was there, tapping a finger to his lip. "Oh, how odd. His arms became flowers." He eyed the watching audience as if daring them to do something. "No magic here so do take care. If someone bumps into you, apologize immediately."

Gon gulped as he felt a sinister aura from the red-haired man. The man was no ordinary man. He looked like he wanted entertainment...and not the clean and funny type.

"Damn, that psychopath is here again." Tonpa muttered with a shake of his head.

"Does that mean he was here last year?" Kurapika asked.

"Number 44, Hisoka, who is a magician. He could pass the Hunter Exams last year easily until he killed an examiner he didn't like."

"And they're still letting him join the Hunter Exams this year?" Leorio gawked.

"Of course." Yuki was the one who answered. "Remember? The Hunter Exams are unpredictable. Every year, the examiners and the exam content change. It depends on the examiners if they want the examinee to pass that's why even the worst criminals can be Hunters as long as the examiners deem them so."

Tonpa shrugged. "That's how it is. Well, no one likes Hisoka anyway. Stay away from him."

"He's pretty dangerous." Leorio murmured. He would definitely stay away from the guy if he didn't want to die.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Tonpa took out cans of orange juice out of his shoulder bag. "Here, a welcoming gift and remembrance of our acquaintance."

The four perked up at that and received the orange juice happily. They were thirsty after all.

From nearby, a group of examinees were muttering and snickering.

"There goes that guy."

"Playing the kind persona despite being the nastiest guy in the Hunter Exams."

"Tonpa a.k.a the Rookie Crusher."

Tonpa raised his own can of orange juice with a grin. "Best of luck to all of us." Altogether, they clicked their cans and opened the tabs. Inwardly, the so-called Rookie Crusher was laughing maniacally. _'That juice has a really strong laxative that can make you shit your guts out for three days. One sip is all it takes.'_

Once Gon tipped his can to let some juice in his mouth, he let it flow out of his mouth immediately. "Tonpa-san, I think your juice is expired. It tastes a little funny."

Leorio spewed it out of his mouth before he could swallow. "What the fuck?! Are you serious?!"

"A-Ah, is that so?" Tonpa stuttered out. _'Fucking impossible. That laxative is tasteless and odorless.'_

While Kurapika just calmly poured out the orange juice, Yuki continued drinking until the can was empty and then said, "It tastes fine to me. It would be better if it's cold."

 _'Another monster!'_ Tonpa couldn't help but think as he stared at the blonde girl. He saw the interaction between her and the green jellybean whatever and should've figured that the girl has some wicked connections. He decided to act innocent and bowed down. "I'm very sorry about that. I didn't know the juice was expired."

"You don't have to apologize, Tonpa-san." Gon forgave him quickly. "Is your stomach okay though?"

"Oh, I'm fine...thanks."

Gon continued smiling. "I've tried different kinds of plants since I lived by the mountains and forest so I can taste if it's particularly bad."

"And I'm pretty much immune to poison and laxatives from all the shit I've went through since I was a kid." Yuki added. _'Never let anyone else taste the old man's, Ging's, or my cooking...ever again.'_

"Really? That's quite amazing!" Tonpa chuckled as he rubbed his nape. _'Damn it, three monsters and those three are fucking Rookies for god's sake. What's more shitty is that they're only kids!'_ "I better go now. Sorry again." And he walked away from them. _'But still, this year's rookies are just too much. That number 294 ninja Hanzo seemed gullible but I saw in his eyes that he's no fool.'_ Hearing some clacking sounds, he flinched. _'That number 301...he's practically oozing of danger that I can't go near him. Not to mention, he's creepy as hell.'_ What purple-skinned human with pins all over his body isn't creepy? _'But then there's that fatty number 187. I don't even want to think about that annoying little shithead with his stupid data and laptop.'_

"Tonpa-san!"

He winced when he heard the innocent call of a young boy with silver-white hair and blue cat eyes. _'The other monster aside from that blondie and mountain boy.'_

The young boy waved at him. "Can I have some more of that juice? I'm feeling quite thirsty."

"O-Oh, sure! Here..." Taking out another can of orange juice, Tonpa watched the boy take it and drink it. _'That laxative should be working but no, it's not fucking working.'_

"Worried?" The boy suddenly smirked. "You shouldn't. Poisons don't work on me." And he walked away nonchalantly.

 _'Just like blondie number 406 Yuki Kura.'_ Tonpa just gritted his teeth. _'Number 99, Killua. The rookies these year are just too much!'_

A ringing alarm clock was abruptly heard throughout the tunnel. When it stopped, the wall in front rose up until it showed an even deeper tunnel and a tall man with a moustache, wearing a suit.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone." The man with the moustache announced. "The entry period for the Hunter applicants has officially ended. And now, the Hunter Exams are about to begin!" He noticed how some of the examinees were brimming in excitement. "If you lack luck and ability, I can say that you'll either get seriously injured...or end up dead in which the Hunter Association will not pay for the funeral." He heard someone cover up a snort of laughter. If he had a mouth, it would probably be in a smile now. "Those who want to take the risks, follow me. Those who do not, exit to the elevator and go home." When no one moved, he just nodded. "Alright, all 405 examinees will participate in Phase One of the Hunter Exams. Let's go!" He turned and started walking.

Leorio sighed as he and the others started walking after the man with the moustache. "Of course no one backed down. And here I'm hoping to lose some opponents."

"Look around, guys, and start running." Yuki told them as they started to go into a light run.

"The guys in the front started running." Gon noted.

"And the man picked up his pace." Kurapika added.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself." The man with the moustache said. "I'm Satotz, the Phase One Examiner of this year's Hunter Exams. I will lead you all to the Phase Two location."

"What about Phase One?" Hanzo, number 294 ninja, asked out loud.

"It's already starting. You must follow me to the Phase Two location."

"Just follow you?"

"Yes. I will not tell how long or how far until we get there. You just need to follow me."

Kurapika hummed thoughtfully. "I see. So this is how Phase One will be."

"The Hunter Exams are weird." Gon pouted.

Yuki laughed at that. "It's a good thing that I'm wearing my awesome boots." She pointed at her knee-high black leather boots with high stilleto heels.

"I suspect this is an endurance test. It'll be fine. But..." Leorio eyed Yuki's boots in distaste. "...how the hell can you run in those kind of shoes? Don't they hurt? I thought women don't like high heels. But your legs look good on them. Very sexy."

"I know my legs look sexy in these that's why I have them. I'm more comfortable with high heels. And these boots are awesome and special. They are specialized in comfort, combat, and even communication."

"I didn't know your boots can be a weapon, Yuki." Gon stated.

"See these killer stilleto heels? They can pierce through bone." _'With a little help.'_ Yuki snickered. "So they're not just for design."

"No, they're for you since you're so short, we probably won't see you without your heels." Leorio laughed out loud at his own joke.

"Rude much, Leorio! I'm a bit taller than Gon!" Yuki stuck her tongue out at him. Leorio retaliated by doing the same. Gon just giggled at their antics.

Kurapika let out a weary sigh. _'They really need to take this seriously.'_ He then eyed the man with the moustache, Satotz. _'Still, there's the mental stress of not knowing when or where we'll get to the Phase Two location. They're testing our mental endurance as well, not just the physical endurance.'_

And finally, the Hunter Exams begin with Phase One a.k.a the Run Until You Drop Phase.

 **ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ** **TO BE CONTINUED ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ**

Author's Note: Not much emoticons here since I didn't deem anything here page-break-worthy. And not enough wit in the next chapter title...sadly. But still, quite early update, right, bitches?

 **Next Chapter: Chapter 4: Friendship**

 **Expectations on Chapter 4: Ages, Sweat, Skateboard**

See you next time! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	5. Friendship

Author's Note: Still on baby steps but getting some love. Rolling!

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

 **Chapter 4: Friendship**

Two hours have passed since the start of the First Phase of the Hunter Exams a.k.a the Run Until You Drop Phase. The examinees and Satotz have been running about more than thirty kilometers from their starting point in Zaban City. Since Satotz didn't tell the examinees how far or how long they'll be running, just as Kurapika thought, the mental stress was eating some of the examinees. Hell, there were already examinees that dropped and gave up.

Tonpa growled when he heard the happy humming from the fat person he loathes so much. _'That asshat probably thinks we're nearing the location. My gut's telling we're still far away.'_

Meanwhile, Leorio's breathing was already harsh and ragged. _'I underestimated the Hunter Exams. Every person still running here is a monster! This is like a pack of running monsters! Shit!'_ He shook the thought away. He needed to focus on running. Then, he heard something like wheels rolling. Turning to the sound, he almost popped a vein when he saw a kid, that looked to be the same age as Gon, riding a skateboard. "What the fuck, brat?! Give the Hunter Exams some respect, damn it!"

"What do you mean?" Killua blinked when an old man suddenly shouted at him about giving something some respect.

"Why are you using a damn skateboard?! That's cheating!"

"What's wrong with it?"

"What's wrong?! This is an endurance test!"

"No, it isn't!" Gon interjected with a frown. "Satotz-san only told us to follow him."

"True." Yuki shrugged. "It doesn't matter what you use as long as you follow him. It's your fault for not bringing a scooter with you or something."

"Hey!" Leorio poked her on the forehead. "Whose side are you on anyway?"

"Want me to say something like, 'I'll always be on your side, Leorio' or something similar to that?"

"Oh god, no, just...shut up." Leorio turned away, huffing. He really didn't want to think about it.

Killua watched the exchange with interest then rolled towards Gon and Yuki. "Ne, how old are you?"

Gon answered first. "Eleven."

 _'Oh, we're the same age.'_ Killua eyed them and with a small kick, he did a trick with his skateboard and started running. "I guess I'll start running, too."

"Whoa!" Gon was impressed. That was the first time he saw someone do that. "That was so cool!"

"Nice." Yuki smiled a bit. _'This kid seems familiar.'_ "I'm Yuki."

"I'm Killua."

"I'm Gon!"

Behind them, Leorio was seething. _'Damn it, I'm so pissed right now.'_

Kurapika, who was only glancing at them sometimes, just sighed. _'Really, just who are the real kids here?'_

Somewhere along the crowd, Tonpa snickered when the fat man he loathed dropped on his knees and screamed. Ha paid up the three brothers who bullied the fat man and smirked when he heard one of the brothers comment on how he loved crushing rookies. "I live for it, after all."

 **ε=ε=ε=ε=┏(;-** **)┛ ε=ε=ε=ε=┏(;-** **)┛ ε=ε=ε=ε=┏(;-** **)┛**

 _'We must have been running for four hours.'_ Kurapika noted. _'Probably around sixty kilometers.'_ He saw that the crowd was definitely less than when they started. He never expected for the Hunter Exams to be like this. It was absurd. _'Just how much further until we stop?'_

Lagging behind, Leorio was panting and sweating like a pig from all the running they were doing. He knew that sometimes, his vision blurred and he knew that he was nearing his limit. _'A rookie passes once every three years. I'm just a normal human being. It's not even worth thinking about!'_ He dropped his suitcase in his fatigue.

Yuki perked up at the noise and skidded to a stop. She looked at where the sound came from and saw Leorio, leaning on his knees and looking really fatigued. "Damn it, Leorio! Come on!" Gon also stopped beside her, silently eying Leorio and mentally willing him to continue.

"Huh?" Killua paused when Yuki and Gon stopped. He glanced at where they were looking at and frowned at the old man who shouted at him. "Hey, forget about him. Let's go."

Leorio breathed in deep and exhaled out loud. He heard Yuki's shout and could feel Gon's gaze on him. _'I feel like I'm being judged. They're probably thinking how much of a loser I am.'_ "Well, fuck that!" He snarled and broke into a sprint. "I want to be a fucking Hunter and get that money!"

"That's the spirit, Leorio!" Yuki cheered back.

Gon just grinned when Killua gave him and Yuki a confused face. He used his fishing pole to get Leorio's suitcase.

"Whoa, that's so cool!" Killua exclaimed. It was his turn to say it since it's his first time seeing someone use a fishing pole like that. "You should let me try that later."

"If you let me try your skateboard." Gon winked.

Yuki laughed. She's so happy to see Gon truly acting like his age. "Let's go run then." And they started running once more.

 **ε=ε=┏()┛ ε=ε=┏()┛ ε=ε=┏()┛**

Satotz glanced at the crowd of running examinees at his back. They were now running on the stairs which meant for Satotz that they were nearing the location. _'We've been running for about eighty kilometers now.'_ If he had a mouth, he would be smirking. _'Why don't we step it up a notch?'_ He stretched his legs more and he was almost running more than 10 steps of stairs per step of his foot.

"What the hell? Is he serious?" Gerreta, the huntsman, muttered.

"He's like prancing on these stairs." Hanzo, the ninja, gritted his teeth. "If he keeps up this pace..."

"Tons of people will fail for sure."

At the middle of the crowd, Gon, Killua, and Yuki were still running together and not at all tired.

"Gon, Yuki, wanna race to see who finishes first?" Killua smirked at them.

"The loser gets to buy the winners dinner!" Yuki told them.

"Alright, I'm in!" Gon raised his hand in emphasis.

"Let's go then!" With that, the three picked up their pace and started running fast.

Somewhere also in the middle, Leorio controlled his breathing to keep himself in shape during the run. He even removed his upper clothing, leaving him bare-chested except his tie since he didn't really want to wrinkle it just so it could fit in his pants pocket and also his number plate since the green jellybean anthromorphic being told them to keep it at their chest at all times.

"Leorio, are you okay?" Kurapika's eyes widened when he saw Leorio's state.

"Sure! Never better!" Leorio grinned. "I realized I can keep going even if I look like a dumbass like this!" With that, he charged up and even passed Kurapika.

Kurapika just chuckled and shook his head. _'Alright, maybe I should do the same.'_ He removed his blue tabard and sprinted up until he reached Leorio's side. "Leorio, I have a question."

"What, Kurapika? Think this is easy? Talking is a waste of energy!"

Kurapika ignored that with a slight roll of his eyes. "Do you really want to become a Hunter just for the money?" It's been bugging him actually, alongside with what Yuki is hiding.

Leorio was surprised at the question and grimaced. _'Seriously, you had to ask that.'_

"I knew it." Kurapika saw the grimace Leorio was trying to hide. "I know you better than that even if we just met a few days ago. You may have a nasty and perverted attitude-"

"What, perverted?!"

"-and you're not very smart-"

"I'm not an idiot, Kurapika!"

"-but you're not a shallow-minded person."

"...Eh?"

Kurapika smiled a little. "I've seen people who really live for money. You're not one of them. And so is Yuki."

Leorio huffed. "You and your logic. If Yuki was here, she'd probably tell you something like..." He cleared his throat and did a very poor imitation of Yuki. "...'But I do want the money!' Or something like that."

Kurapika chuckled but frowned. He looked at Leorio's back. He really wanted to know Leorio's reasons. He didn't want to believe that Leorio was _that_ selfish to only want money. And he didn't really see Yuki as someone who even needs money. She seemed wealthy to him due to her appearance. _'And the special boots.'_ He snorted softly and shook his head. Then, he said, "Scarlet Eyes."

Leorio turned his head to Kurapika. "What? Scarlet Eyes?"

"That's the reason why the Kurta Clan was annihilated. Our clan has this unique ability of our eyes changing into a scarlet shade whenever our emotions peak. When our eyes are in that state, it is said that the color is one of the seven most beautiful colors in the world. It attracts a very high price in black markets."

"That's why the Genei Ryodan attacked you?" Leorio quietly asked.

"Yes. I saw them pluck out every single eye from my brethren's corpses. I can even hear their anguished and painful screams in my head." Kurapika's eyes narrowed in determination. "I _will_ capture the Genei Ryodan. And I _will_ take my clan's eyes back."

"So that's why you want to be a Hunter." Leorio nodded.

"That's right. If I work under rich clients as a Hunter, I can gain access and information from black markets."

"But then, you'll have to swallow your pride to become a Hunter that you despise so much."

"I don't care about my pride. It's nothing compared to what my clan suffered."

Leorio became quiet and thoughtful after that. He smirked wryly. "I don't have a noble cause like you, Kurapika. I really do want the money. I'm a selfish bastard like that!"

"Don't lie!"

"I'm not lying!" Leorio growled out.

"You really think that money can buy everything?" Kurapika almost shouted.

"Yeah, I do! For the right price, you can buy not only material things, but dreams, hearts, and even lives of people!"

Kurapika's eyes flashed scarlet. "Take that back, Leorio! If you're insulting the Kurta Clan, I won't forgive you!"

"Why so affected, huh?! I'm only telling the truth! If I only had money, then I could've save my friend!"

"What?" Kurapika was shocked. "A disease?"

Leorio pursed his lips and looked away. "A curable one. The operation costed an arm and a leg. I'm a naive man. I thought that if I become a doctor, I could treat people who had the same disease and tell them it was free! I could even tell his parents! It was my dream." He let out a scoff that sounded so bitter. He was becoming overwhelmed with gried and bitterness that tears started pooling in his eyes. _'It's so irritating. It's so fucking annoying!'_ "It turns out that to become a fucking doctor, I need to have even more shitty money! Don't you see it, Kurapika?! Money makes the world go round! That's why I want money!"

Behind them, Gon, Killua, and Yuki were running and breathing almost simultaneously. Yuki, who was listening to the whole conversation, was smiling and tapped Leorio's back. "Aren't you a big softy, Leorio?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Yuki?" Leorio didn't turn her way or else she might see his tears and flushed cheeks. He knew she heard everything, the bitch. "You must be getting delusional with fatigue."

Yuki then slapped his ass with a wide smirk. "Man, who would've thought you have a sexy ass, Leorio?"

Leorio yelped and slapped Yuki's head. "You really are a bitch!"

Kurapika blushed and faced away. "Yuki! Must you do that? In front of the kids nonetheless."

"Sorry sorry." Yuki patted both Leorio's ass and Kurapika's shoulder. "You're such a mother hen, Kurapika."

Killua discreetly whispered to Gon, "Hey, is this normal?"

"A bit." Gon chuckled awkwardly. "By the way, Kurapika, Leorio, we'll see you at the finish line."

"See you later then, old man!" Killua teased.

"Hey, I'm not an old man! I'm nineteen years old, just a teenager like you guys!" Leorio shouted.

Silence dawned on them.

"Huh?!"

"No way!"

"Leorio, you're such a liar."

"We're the same age, Leorio!"

Silence dawned on them once more.

"What?! Yuki, you're nineteen?! I thought you were eleven just like me and Gon!"

"Oh yeah, Yuki is nineteen already."

"Why am I surrounded by liars?"

"I thought you were the same age as Kurapika like sixteen or something but hell, you're already nineteen! Nice one!"

Leorio and Yuki high-fived. Gon laughed. Killua and Kurapika just sighed. They continued running anyway, putting the conversation about ages away.

─ **=≡Σ(((** **つ•** **̀ω•́)** **つ ─** **=≡Σ(((** **つ•** **̀ω•́)** **つ ─** **=≡Σ(((** **つ•** **̀ω•́)** **つ**

Sidestepping another dropped examinee, Gon, Killua, and Yuki were still running and not even panting. They were breathing hard but still bearable.

"I'm impressed that you and Yuki can keep up with me." Killua told Gon.

"Really? Is that so?" Gon chuckled.

Raising an eyebrow, Killua pouted. "Or maybe everyone else are just slow."

"Well, who knows?" Yuki shrugged with a small smile.

"Man! The Hunter Exams are gonna be a piece of cake, I can see it. That's no fun at all."

"Killua, why do you want to become a Hunter?" Gon questioned, curiosity brimming in his brown eyes.

"Me? I'm not really interested in becoming a Hunter. I just heard that the exams are difficult so I wanted to try it. I thought it would be fun. But it's disappointing so far. What about you two?"

Gon was flabbergasted at Killua's reasoning and snapped out of it when Killua called out his name twice. "Oh, well, my dad's a Hunter. I want to become a Hunter, just like him."

"Eh really? What kind of Hunter is he?"

"I don't know actually."

Killua laughed at that. "That's so weird. You want to be like your dad but you don't even know anything about him?"

"You see, I was raised by Mito-san and Grandmother that's why I only know my dad through pictures and stories." Gon gestured his head to Yuki. "When I was nine, I met Yuki and she's like my big sister. She actually knows more about my dad than I do." He smiled widely.

"Why is that?" Killua asked Yuki.

"That's because I travelled with him for like four and a half years." Yuki grimaced. "If only _that_ didn't happen..."

"That?" When Yuki didn't respond more, Killua was more confused. "Gon, what did she mean?"

Gon frowned and murmured, "Don't tell her but I sometimes hear Yuki cry and shout how my dad is so stupid. I don't really know what happened between them but it must be sad."

"I see." Killua didn't really see it but he understood a bit so he didn't press for more.

Yuki, in the meantime, scowled and was huffing like a child. _'Damn that Ging and damn his stupidity. Damn everything about him. Can he hear me? I bet he can! Ging, you're damned by me, the Bitch Goddess, so ha-fucking-ha!'_ She then groaned aloud and rubbed her head in frustration. "Fuck this shit!"

Killua and Gon decided to leave her alone for a while and started a conversation between them.

"Anyway, who's Mito-san?" Killua asked.

"Mito-san is my aunt." Gon answered simply.

Killua blinked when he didn't hear more. "Oh..."

"When my dad was twelve, he entered the Hunter Exams and passed. He became a Hunter and left the island. I want to know the reason why he left me and just continued being a Hunter."

"That's because he's a selfish asshole." Yuki huffed out angrily. "Hunters will always be selfish when they set their goals. They'll do everything-and I mean, _everything_ -just so they could get what they want. They're bastards like that."

Killua couldn't help but comment on that. "And here you are, about to become one yourself."

"Don't sass me!" But Yuki smirked and ruffled Killua's hair. "I like you, Killua. You're a smart kid."

Killua blushed and looked away. "Whatever." Gon laughed at their antics. Suddenly, the three of them saw something bright in front of them.

"It's the exit!" Someone from the crowd shouted.

"That's great!"

"Finally, we can get out of this dark tunnel!"

Gon, Killua, and Yuki shared grins and sprinted up.

Meanwhile, Satotz was still leisurely running. _'Now, let's see how many made it this far.'_ The second he stepped on the exit, Gon, Killua, and Yuki ran past him shouting, 'Goal!' Satotz' eyes widened when he saw the bright and childish smile on Yuki's face. _'To see that smile again...is nostalgic.'_ He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the voices of the children.

"I won!" Gon cheered, raising his arms up.

"Hey! I was faster!" Killua exclaimed.

"No, I'm definitely the first one here!" Yuki said with her head high.

"I won!"

"No, I won!"

"I'm the winner so you two should buy me dinner!"

"That doesn't even make sense! Why should the two of us buy you dinner?"

"And it's not you, Yuki. It's me who's the winner!"

"Gon! Not you, too!"

Satotz watched them argue with growing amusement, especially Yuki Kura, the Chairman's adopted granddaughter. He met the blonde girl briefly when she hadn't been coerced into travelling with Ging Freecss. To him, the girl was mature, strong, and can be quite spoiled due to the Chairman's doting. It was refreshing to see her acting so childish despite being nineteen years old. _'She looks like an eleven-year old anyway.'_ He thought with a mental laugh.

"Ne, who do you think won?" Gon questioned Satotz suddenly.

Satotz answered calmly. "I believe the three of you crossed the finish line at the same time."

"Really?" Killua shared a glance with Yuki and Gon. "What's gonna happen now?"

"Well then, I'll buy you both dinner!" Gon told them. "Then, Killua will buy me and Yuki dinner. Lastly, Yuki will buy me and Killua dinner."

"I don't get it." Killua laughed a bit. "But I guess, sure?"

"Satotz, it's been a while." Yuki greeted with a smile. "How have you been?" She wasn't particularly close to Satotz but she knew the guy idolized Ging. She knew he was a calm and quiet individual but she's not really sure with how he thinks.

"I am fine, Yuki-san." Satotz dipped his head once. "And yourself?"

"I'm alright. Not really that tired."

Gon smiled widely at the examiner. "Satotz-san, is this where the Second Phase will begin?"

Satotz shook his head. "No, we still have a long way to go."

The other examinees finally caught up to them and stopped to rest for a while. The outside was very foggy and they almost couldn't see through it.

Leorio stumbled out of the tunnel and dropped face down on the floor. Kurapika stepped beside him and breathed in then out.

"Kurapika! Leorio!" Gon called out from the side.

"Is this the location for Phase Two?" Kurapika questioned.

"No, we still have a long way to go. At least, that's what Satotz said." Yuki replied.

"I see. Oh, the fog is fading."

True enough, the fog was slowly dissipating and revealed a forest. Gon was ecstatic to see that. It felt like home in a rainy season to him. Yuki also felt the same although she flinched when she felt her hair becoming frizzy.

"Welcome to Numere Wetlands, otherwise known as Swindlers Swamp." Satotz informed the examinees. "To get to Phase Two's location, we must cross the swamp. Be aware that this is the home of very bizarre animals that are very cunning and prey on humans. You are very unlucky if you encounter an animal in mating season. Who knows what will that do to you? Once you're deceived, you're dead." Many of the examinees shuddered at that and what even frightened them was how nonchalant and deadpan Satotz' demeanor was. "That's why be very careful and vigilant."

Suddenly, a metal sliding door rolled down the exit of the tunnel, leaving the examinees who didn't make it inside. Satotz just ignored that and continued explaining. "The creatures here may believe and follow their instincts first but they are not just ordinary animals. They are intelligent and will use anything in their power to catch their prey. In which the ecosystem here uses deceit to catch their prey, that's why it is aptly named as Swindlers Swamp. Stay close to me so that you won't be deceived."

Leorio clicked his tongue and muttered. "Heh, how can we be deceived if we're expecting it?"

"Don't be a dumbass, Leorio." Yuki muttered back and elbowed him gently. "Always expect the unexpected. One of the greatest mottos in life."

"Oh really?" Leorio grouched.

"Don't let that man fool you!"

"I just fucking said how?!"

"I'm serious!" Abruptly, a beaten-up man appeared from the side of the tunnel. "That man is lying to you!" He then pointed to Satotz. "He's not the real examiner! I am!"

Some of the examinees began murmuring if it was true or not. There were also some who weren't convinced. The beaten-up man saw that they weren't believing him and so, pulled out an either unconscious or dead human-like monkey that looked like Satotz, moustache and body.

"Whoa, it looks like Satotz-san!" Gon pulled on Yuki's sleeve like a son calling out to his mother. "Ne, ne, what's going on, Yuki?"

Yuki shrugged. "I don't know who the hell that guy is but I believe in Satotz. He's a nice guy overall."

"But what if that man with the monkey is true?" Killua asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope, he isn't. Trust me on that one."

"I believe in you, Yuki." Gon smiled and looked at Killua. "You should, too, Killua. Yuki is strong and smart."

 _'And dangerous and suspicious.'_ Killua couldn't help but add in his mind. There was something about Yuki that made his nerves tingle and he knew Yuki's eyes. After all, he has them and also the ones surrounding him his whole life. He got out of his thinking when the beaten-up man began spouting something.

"It's a Man-Faced Ape, one of the creatures here in Swindlers Swamp. They love eating fresh human meat however, their limbs are long and thin that's why they can be weak and that's why they disguise themselves as human beings. They make humans follow them to the forest where they'll make a feast with the other creatures. He intends to trap the examinees in the forest!"

Some of the examinees were now convinced by the beaten-up man but then, it shattered when suddenly, cards flew and stabbed the man in different parts of the body, killing him instantly. Another set of cards flew towards Satotz but the mouthless man just caught it between his fingers calmly.

"Now I see." Hisoka was the one responsible for the cards, of course. He chuckled and shuffled the cards in his hands. "That settles it. You're the real one." He gestured his head towards Satotz' direction. "Examiners are Hunters selected by the Association to do their jobs without pay."

"Do not get me started on the pay." Satotz interrupted as he threw the cards away. His face was still untwitching but the examinees heard the annoyance in his voice. "They are very lucky sons of bitches."

Yuki snickered quietly and whispered to Gon and Killua, "Being a Hunter is not always fun and games, after all."

"And I'm wondering how you know that." Killua said, realizing that Yuki was hiding a lot of things. _'Very suspicious and dangerous.'_

"Any Hunter can dodge or even retaliate that kind of attack." Hisoka finished, twirling a card on his finger.

"I'll take that as a compliment however..." Satotz' eyes narrowed. "...if you deliberately attacked me again, without reason, I will have to report you and you will be disqualified. Is that understood?"

"Crystal."

"That man was purposely misleading the examinees to lure them in. It is a good thing then that no one believed him. Good riddance."

Vultures immediately swooped down to peck and eat on the corpse of the beaten-up man before it could go to rigor mortis.

Leorio winced. "Nature is really brutal to watch."

"So he's a Man-Faced Ape after all." Kurapika crossed his arms. "This place is really dangerous."

"We can't let out guard down." Killua told them.

"Yeah." Yuki and Gon agreed together.

"You will be encountering that kind of deception regularly while we're in Numere Wetlands. I know that some of you even believed that I'm an impostor." Satotz rolled his eyes and seemed to be sighing. He was normally calm but he really couldn't help but be exasperated. The life as a Hunter probably made him cynical. "Now you understand, don't you? If you lose sight of me in the fog, you will never arrive at the location of Phase Two. With that said, follow me." Then, he started walking that almost looked like running with his long legs. The examinees followed him.

"Damn it, another marathon." Leorio cursed. Despite his earlier determination, he really was feeling the fatigue already.

"Not to mention we're now running on a marsh." Kurapika noted. "Running on wet ground is harder than on concrete floor."

"This really feels like Whale Island on a rainy season." Yuki commented with a wry smile.

"Eh? Really?" Killua hummed. "Does it also make your hair look like a scared cat's tail?"

"It's because of humidity! Humidity from the fog!"

"What's humidity?" Gon asked.

"Uh, something with water or whatever. Not really good with Science." Yuki huffed.

Killua barked out a short laugh. "You two are really weird."

Gon pouted. "Then you're weird , too, Killua."

"What? How did you come up with that?"

"You can never fight the Freecss logic, trust me." Yuki blew some of the flying frizzy hair away from her.

"Why do I somehow believe that?"

And thus, their running and conversing continued on in Numere Wetlands, otherwise known as Swindlers Swamp. There were thirty-six examinees that dropped out, leaving three hundred and sixty-eight examinees running towards Phase Two's location. With how dangerous the swamp was, the number will even go lower.

 **ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ** **TO BE CONTINUED ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ**

Author's Note: To think I only wrote this for half a day. Spirit Inspiration! No! I! Can't! Lose!

 **Next Chapter: Chapter 5: Sexy Back**

 **Expect in Chapter 5: Ass (literally and metaphorically), Magic, Fight**

See you next time! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	6. Sexy Back

Author's Note: Rolling! Rolling! ~I'm bringing sexy back. Them other boys don't know how to act...~

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

 **Chapter 5: Sexy Back**

The three hundred sixty-eight examinees who survived the run in the underground tunnel were now running in Numere Wetlands, otherwise known as Swindlers Swamp, where the hungry and cunning creatures are. It was foggy, humid, and fucking dangerous.

"Listen to me once more!" Satotz announced while still leisurely running. "Pay attention to your surroundings and always keep a close eye on me so that you'll survive."

They kept on running. Animal sounds were heard everywhere. Luckily, the mud wasn't thick enough to hinder the examinees but it was still slippery. And the humidity made breathing harder for the runners. All in all, the marsh was _really_ fucking dangerous.

Kurapika noticed something different with the surroundings. "Leorio, the fog is getting thicker."

"Ugh, let's just run, damn it." Leorio grunted.

At the back, a group of men in blue were watching Hisoka with a calculating gaze.

"Alright, this is our chance."

"Let's take advantage of the fog."

"We'll get rid of him."

Somewhere nearby, Killua's eyes narrowed at what he just overheard. _'People plotting things, huh?'_ "Gon, Yuki, let's move up."

"Okay." Yuki gave him a thumbs-up. She heard the conversation but she knew it wasn't for them. It was for Hisoka. But it was still good to be cautious.

"Alright. We don't want to lose Satotz-san." Gon agreed as well, not questioning it.

"There's that but I'm more concerned about that Hisoka guy." Killua told them bluntly. "He's dangerous. I can smell it in the air."

"Smell?" Gon repeated. "I don't smell something from him. Leorio! Kurapika!" He called out. "Killua told us to move up!"

"Gon! Don't shout things like that." Killua shook his head exasperatedly. "Seriously, you're so weird."

Yuki cringed at Gon's shout. "Well, let's hope for the best. I don't wanna fucking die in this shitty marsh."

Leorio commented on that. "Same! And Gon, you're a moron! If I had some energy, I'll be running beside the fucking examiner!"

"Don't worry about us!" Kurapika shouted back. "You three go ahead!"

"Let's go then." Killua quickened his pace.

"Ah, wait!" Gon ran after him.

Yuki stayed back for a while and glanced towards Hisoka with her blue eyes. _'You're planning something, aren't you?'_ She had a gut feeling that she should help. _'My god, I've really changed since I lived with Gon.'_

 _ **（｀**_ _ **ω´**_ _ **）**_ _ **^ψ ^**_ _ **（｀**_ _ **ω´**_ _ **）**_ _ **^ψ ^**_ _ **（｀**_ _ **ω´**_ _ **）**_ _ **^ψ**_

Kurapika and Leorio looked around and felt brief panic swell in them.

"We don't even know where we're going." Kurapika said with a worried frown.

"It's alright as long we can see those guys at our front." Leorio placated but then, he flinched when the heads of the people in front of them suddenly dropped into the fog. "Holy shit! What the fuck was that?!"

Head-sized strawberries appeared like an apparition, surrounding the examinees as if taunting them. One of the stupid examinees stepped forward and then, he was caught in the mouth of what looked like a crossover of a dinosaur and a big-ass turtle with strawberries planted on the shell.

"It's called a Noggin' Luggin' Tortoise. It looks hungry." Kurapika informed.

"We didn't need to know that to see it's fucking hungry!" Leorio yelled out.

Most of the examinees ran in different directions just so they could get away from the strange tortoise-dinosaurs. Kurapika and Leorio were back-to-back and eying the creatures surrounding them.

"What the hell are we gonna do?"

"I don't know."

"So you know the fucking name but you don't know how we can get out of this bullshit?!"

"Calm down, Leorio! I'm thinking!"

"Think faster then, damn it!"

"Stop pressuring me!"

"Until you get us out of here, I'm gonna fucking shout at you!"

"Argh! Leorio! You're such an asshole!"

"Did you just call me an asshole?!"

The Noggin' Luggin' Tortoises just gazed at their arguing prey.

 **(×_×;** **）** **(×_×;** **）** **(×_×;** **）**

"I can hear screaming everywhere." Gon noted.

"Stay on your guard always and we'll be fine." Killua told him.

"I hope Leorio and Kurapika are alright."

"They'll be fine, right, Yuki?" Killua turned to the blonde girl but he was shocked to see she's not there. "Yuki? Shit! Where is she?!"

"What?!" Gon looked around and saw no signs of the blonde girl. "Yuki! Where are you?!"

All of a sudden, they stepped on something that was not muddy grass.

"What?" Gon and Killua looked down then they screamed as they fell down on the land, only to be swallowed by huge-ass frog apparently and aptly called Frog-In-Waiting.

The Frog-In-Waiting crawled up from its hiding place and slowly walked away. Inside his stomach, the two boys were shouting.

"This is Yuki's fault for making us drop our guard!"

"Calm down, Killua! We'll get out of here! I hope she's alright though."

"I hope she's eaten by another frog like this!"

┗ **(** **･** **ω** **･** **;)┛ ┗(** **･** **ω** **･** **;)┛ ┗(** **･** **ω** **･** **;)┛**

"Oh shit! Why am I so stupid?!" Leorio cried out as he gripped the log he used to fight the giant tortoise-dinosaurs. He was hanging on the log that was lodged between the teeth of the creature.

"Leorio!" Kurapika took out his wooden Bokken swords and jumped high to reach the head of the giant tortoise-dinosaur. He landed his swords to the eye of the creature, making it cry out but it didn't really release the log.

"Just hold on, Leorio! I'm gonna slice your arms so that you'll be safe!" An unexpected voice reached them.

"What the fuck, Yuki?!" Leorio's eyes widened when abruptly, Yuki was now beside him, brandishing a katana. "You're not serious in cutting my arms, are you?"

Yuki's eyes twinkled in delight. "Oh I am. So hold tight!"

"Hell no, bitch!" Leorio yelled as he let go of the log and free-fell to the ground.

"Joking, Leorio!" Yuki twisted her body and slashed the snout of the tortoise-dinosaur, making it scream and gush out blood.

Kurapika shook his head at Yuki's sudden intervention. "Alright, this is our chance! Let's go!"

Leorio nodded and ran with Yuki and Kurapika beside him. "Yuki, you're not really serious about earlier, right?"

"Leorio, you don't need arms to run." Yuki told him seriously.

"You really are serious!"

Kurapika growled at them. "Shut up and let's just go!"

"Yes, yes!" Leorio and Yuki bowed their heads at the same time. "Sorry!"

 _'Aren't they supposed to be nineteen-year olds?'_ Kurapika rolled his eyes.

 **( `_)** **乂** **(_' ) ( `_)** **乂** **(_' ) ( `_)** **乂** **(_' )**

The Frog-In-Waiting that swallowed up Gon and Killua suddenly stilled and turned blue. It opened its big mouth and vomitted acid and the two boys. It walked away, not turning back to eat anymore.

"I guess it didn't like our taste." Gon grimaced when he felt his hair full of slime.

"It was this." Killua showed him a familiar can of orange juice.

"Oh! That's from Tonpa-san! Looks like he saved us."

"I could've escaped." Killua huffed and threw the can away. "I still blame Yuki for this though."

"I'm worried about her and Leorio and Kurapika." Gon faced the back then at Killua.

Killua just shook out the acid from his body. He didn't understand how Gon could worry about others when his own self was also in danger. "Forget about them. They can do this without our help. Let's go and catch up." He ran first, not bothering to wait for a response.

Gon was about to follow but his gut feeling stopped him. _'They need help.'_ Determined, he figured that Killua would be alright on his own and ran back, towards the general direction of where he last heard Yuki, Leorio, and Kurapika.

 **(** **。** **-`ω´-) (** **。** **-`ω´-) (** **。** **-`ω´-)**

"We have no idea where the fuck we are." Yuki growled and screamed out like an animal. "This is so annoying!"

"You are so annoying!" Leorio slapped the back of her head. "Shut the fuck up, will you?!"

"But what Yuki said is true." Kurapika told them. "We've lost sight of the others. Where should we go then?"

Leorio clicked his tongue and gazed at the surroundings until he flinched when he saw someone he didn't expect once again. "Shit. Stop, guys." He whispered harshly and used his index finger to point.

Kurapika and Yuki stopped beside him and followed what he was pointing at. Their eyes widened when they saw Hisoka with a group of men in blue circling him. The three heard the conversation.

"From the first time I saw you, I knew you weren't Hunter material."

"We'll spare you the gore if you oath to not take the Hunter Exams anymore."

"I'll swear on that oath." Hisoka smirked. "I'm passing this year anyway so I don't need to retake it."

"Passing? As if!"

"Can't you see this fog? We're already far from the main group and the examiner."

"That means all of us here failed the Hunter Exams."

Hisoka chuckled darkly, feeling very amused. "I see. So just because you failed the exam, you're now playing examiner. Hunters need something to hunt. A predator needs a prey. I'll join this little game of examiner then." He took out a card and grinned evilly. "I'll judge all of you if you're Hunter material."

"Don't fuck with us!" Was the chorus of the men in blue as they took out their choice of weapons and jumped towards Hisoka.

Hisoka frowned at that and placed the card between his index and middle finger. As if in slow motion, Leorio, Kurapika, and Yuki watched as the red-haired man swiped the card in one circular motion around him. After that, the bodies dropped to the ground, dead and bleeding from their serious neck wound caused by a single card. Even the supposedly leader was killed though it was because Hisoka stabbed him on the head with the card.

It happened so fast, only about two minutes, but to the three, it was like a slow-motion movie with too much details and not much censored parts.

Golden eyes slid to them, making them flinch. "Oh? Care to join my little game of examiner?"

"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" Yuki joked with a shrug, only to be met by a smack on the shoulder. "Hey!"

"You're such an idiot!" Leorio yelled. Kurapika just groaned exasperatedly.

Hisoka watched from his position, a hungry smirk stretching his lips. _'Oh, a very delicious one.'_

┐ **(** **￣ー￣** **)┌ ┐(** **￣ー￣** **)┌ ┐(** **￣ー￣** **)┌**

Killua perked up when he saw a bunch of people and the familiar mouthless man running. "Awesome! We managed to catch up to the main pack, Gon." He turned to urge the other boy but to his surprise, Gon wasn't there anymore. "What the hell? First Yuki then now, Gon? What's up with those people?"

He pouted when he didn't have answers for those. "Well, I'll just go ahead then." He didn't know why he felt sad when he was suddenly all alone. He never felt that way before but he didn't dwell much on it. He probably got used to talking to someone. "It became boring again."

┐ **(** **￣ー￣** **)┌ ┐(** **￣ー￣** **)┌ ┐(** **￣ー￣** **)┌**

Nervous sweat dripped down Leorio's face as he kept his eye on Hisoka's form who was now walking towards the three of them. Kurapika got into a battle stance while Yuki remained calm.

"Leorio, Yuki." Kurapika murmured, still staring forward at Hisoka. "At my signal, let's run into separate directions. He's too experienced in real combat and he can even kill. We can't fight someone like that, even with the three of us."

"True. We'll only die." Yuki had to agree on that. Sure, she might have a chance on fighting the guy and surviving but Hisoka might use Kurapika and Leorio as shields or maybe hostages. _'God knows what he'll do with them if I let him take them.'_

"Fuck, we don't have time for his bullshit." Leorio cursed under his breath.

The smell of blood was still fresh as it flowed out of the necks of the corpses. Every step Hisoka does made the three jump away already, damn the signal. But they needed to time it right or they'll be attacked with the lethal cards. And once Hisoka was about to get near them, Kurapika shouted, "Now!"

Kurapika ran to the right. Leorio ran to the left. Yuki just turned around and ran straight to the back. All three of them ran away from the red-haired man.

Hisoka just huffed and smirked. "A wise decision." He chuckled darkly. He was so amused with the three that he couldn't help but laugh. He wanted to play some more but too bad they all ran away. "Hm?" It would seem one didn't run too far. _'Interesting.'_

Leorio was about to shit bricks. He was so idiotic and suicidal and shit, what was he gonna prove by coming back to the red-haired creep with a motherfucking stick as a weapon?! _'Ah, fuck it. I'm already walking towards him anyway.'_ "Even if it's not my fight, I won't be a pussy and turn my back on it!"

"Leorio?!" Kurapika shouted in surprise as he heard what Leorio said. "Yuki!"

"Fuck this shit!" Yuki growled and turned back. _'So this is where I come help, huh? Good fucking luck to us.'_

Hisoka smirked widely as he watched Leorio run at him with the stick in position for an attack. "I admire that look on your face." He absolutely loved people who fight even if they are so weak. And just as Leorio swung the stick, he moved swiftly away and reached out towards the shocked face. "So delicious..."

What happened next made Leorio blink in relief. A familiar fishing hook with a red ball connected to Hisoka's cheek and a familiar blonde girl attached herself to Hisoka's back, putting the man on a choke hold. "Gon! Yuki!"

Gon appeared out of the fog with a serious expression. "I made it in time."

"Same." Yuki said and tightened her hold, making Hisoka choke a bit.

However, Hisoka was not affected. He took hold of Yuki by the scruff of her neck and pierced his nails on it. Yuki screamed at the slight pain and smacked him on the head. They both let go of each other and glared. They were still near each other and were waiting for the first one to attack.

"Yuki!" Gon saw the thin rivulets of blood drip from the blonde girl's nape. He glared at Hisoka for doing that.

Hisoka merely chuckled. "Good job, little boy. Is that a fishing pole? A very unique weapon, I see." He made eye contact with Yuki and licked his blood-covered fingertips sensually. "And you are delightfully delicious, sweetie."

"Smooth." Yuki had to admit, Hisoka is a very hot guy with a nice ass and a sexy voice. "I'm almost convinced but not enough."

Hisoka blinked and laughed lowly. "You are full of surprises, young lady. I'll get back on you. First of all..." He turned to Gon and smirked. "...I'm very interested on that little boy."

Gon clenched his fishing pole tightly, tensing up when Hisoka started moving towards him. But then, his eyes widened when Leorio stood up and ran towards Hisoka, shouting, "Hey! You're fight is with me!" He and Yuki gasped when Hisoka just swung his fist and hit Leorio's cheek squarely.

"Leorio!" Yuki yelled out and ran towards the fallen body, now unconscious.

Gon moved quickly. He attacked Hisoka at his back but the body only turned to smoke. He was shocked to see Hisoka crouching beside him with an easy smile on his face. He jumped away from him.

"Such a good boy, rescuing his friend." Hisoka was now behind Gon, making the latter swing his pole impulsively, only to be met by smoke once again. The red-haired snickered as he appeared a few feet away from the little boy. "And that expression..." He was definitely loving it as he dodged the fishing hook deftly. "Very nice...I'm getting so excited."

Gon narrowed his eyes and mentally shook how weird Hisoka is. "Okay." He flinged his fishing rod and unexpectedly for Hisoka, the hook hit the ground, soil exploding up in the air. He quickly ran to Hisoka's back once again to attack but it was foiled when Hisoka grabbed him by the throat.

"Hisoka!" Yuki shouted as she saw what happened. But one look from Hisoka told her, _'Don't move. I know what I'm doing.'_ "What the actual fuck?" She murmured to Leorio's unconscious form. "That Hisoka guy is very dangerous...and we'll probably see more of him in the future." But she couldn't help her own hormones. _'But still, that ass looks so fucking good!'_

"I love that look." Hisoka grinned like a maniac at Gon's struggling face. He tightened his grip some more, making the boy choke and struggle in panicked movements. "I really really love it so much." It made his body warm up and his nerves tingle excitedly. Oh how he loved feeling this way. But then, Gon's face slackened so Hisoka let him go with a frown.

Gon coughed and tried to get some air in his lungs. His neck was surely bruising since he could feel some soreness on it. He glanced at Hisoka who crouched down at his level. _'This guy...is scary.'_

"Do not fear." It was as if Hisoka read Gon's thoughts. "I won't kill your friends. They passed, after all." To Gon's shock, Hisoka actually smiled. Even though it was a bit fake, it was a huge smile nonetheless. "You also pass, little boy. So become good Hunters, okay?"

"Uh..." Gon muttered as he stared at the weird red-haired man. "Okay?"

Hisoka nodded once and stood up. He took out a walkie-talkie and whispered some things before saying, "I'll be going now." All of a sudden, he ran to Yuki and Leorio and took both of them on his shoulders, making Yuki shout in surprise. "You can go back on your own, right? Oh, I think you're not alone. But anyway, you can do it." At Gon's silent agreement, Hisoka started walking away. "Good boy."

Yuki squirmed away from Hisoka's shpulder, only for her ass to be swatted. She sighed resignedly. "Don't worry, Gon! I'll see you at Phase Two's location. I'll take care of Leorio, promise!"

Gon watched them go in the fog until they disappeared from his sight. He was so nervous to the point that his sweat continuously rolled down the sides of his head. He inhaled and exhaled, trying to get some semblance of control from his encounter. _'Amazing power...and at the same time, really dangerous.'_ He hoped Yuki and Leorio were gonna be alright. _'I'm sure Yuki can do it!'_

"Gon!" Kurapika cried out in worry as he ran to the boy's side. "Are you alright?!"

Gon's breathing was erratic, as well as his pounding heart. Kurapika noticed that and crouched in silence beside him, waiting for him to calm down. They shared a common thought,

 _'Hisoka is...a dangerous man.'_

 _ **Ψ(**_ _ **´)Ψ Ψ(**_ _ **´)Ψ Ψ(**_ _ **´)Ψ**_

Yuki sighed and tapped a finger on her cheek in boredom. "Are we there yet, Hisoka?"

"We're close. At least, that's what _he_ said." Hisoka replied dryly.

"He, huh? I wonder who that is."

"Somebody you know probably."

"True that." The blonde girl then slyly groped the ass in front of her. She was still hanging on Hisoka's shoulder, after all. "You know, you're a sexy ass. Literally and metaphorically."

Hisoka chuckled and groped hers in return. "Yes, I know. Don't do more than that or we'll never get to the location. How will you explain that to your friends?"

"Oh right." Yuki smirked when she saw Leorio's still unconscious body. Then, she sobered up. "Hisoka, why are you doing this?"

"What are you talking about?" But Hisoka knew what she was implying. So, he answered, "That boy is not normal. He's...what you can describe as...volatile."

 _'Spot on.'_ Yuki gulped. She only met Hisoka about a few hours before and she was startled at how instinctive he is. "You are fucking savage. What do you want from him?"

Hisoka narrowed his eyes. Yuki didn't see the action but she knew he did it. "I don't know. He's still a little young but once he becomes introduced to power, he will be dangerous."

"Even more dangerous than both of us combined." Yuki nodded and quieted. Hisoka didn't say more. They continued their way with some groping because they couldn't help it; they were still people with hormones.

 **(¬_¬) (¬_¬) (¬_¬)**

"This way." Gon turned to the right of the fork he and Kurapika encountered. He continued sniffing the air for directions.

"You can tell them from their scent?" Kurapika questioned with slight awe.

"Leorio has a unique cologne while Yuki always smells like chocolate." Gon smiled a little. "I can smell them from a few kilometers just fine."

Kurapika nodded, astonished at the other boy's enhanced senses. At first glance, Gon looked like an innocent and normal eleven-year old boy. He didn't expect for the boy to be quite strong and resilient. _'Maybe because of Yuki.'_

"Ne, Kurapika, what did Hisoka mean that we passed?"

Kurapika snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, that." He was silent for a while before he said, "Hisoka was acting like an examiner."

Gon blinked in confusion. "An examiner?"

"Yes. He must have his own criteria in judging a person's strength. He was learning every examinee's strength. Apparently, you, Leorio, and Yuki passed his standards."

"But I felt really powerless when I faced him." Gon pursed his lips in slight annoyance. "It's obvious that Yuki would pass because she's really strong and she even managed to get behind and hold his neck. And besides, even Leorio passed even if he did lose."

Kurapika glanced at Gon at the corner of his cat-like, brown eyes. "Maybe he sensed you were kindred spirits."

"What? Kindred spirits?"

"I really doubt that Hisoka is Hunter material. But he impressed me with his superhuman physical prowess and graceful technique. It's quite common to think that those with special talents are drawn to others with unique ones. To Hisoka, maybe he instinctively sensed that you three are qualified as Hunters. Killing you would be a waste, that's probably what he thought." Kurapika gasped when he realized what he just said. "I'm sorry. Was that insensitive of me?"

Gon just shook his head. "I may be scared and powerless against him-I wanted to run actually-but I couldn't and at the same time, I felt so excited that my blood seemed to flow faster and my heartbeat was really fast." He faced Kurapika with a smile. "Is that strange?"

Kurapika was surprised and simultaneously, wary. _'Gon, you don't realize that you're not as innocent as you seem to be. Does Yuki know about this? Probably.'_ He might bring it up with the girl later but for now, he'll keep quiet about it.

They ran with no conversations except for directions and clarifications. Gon reflected in the silence. He hated that feeling called fear. It made him still, powerless, and vulnerable. He didn't like being scared. It was like he couldn't do anything but just stare in horror, unmoving and becoming scarred for life.

Gon mentioned it to Yuki once. He told her how he hated it. He was shocked when Yuki hugged him so tightly that he almost thought that he was gonna bruise. What shocked him more was what she told him back then,

 **"Gon, it's okay to be scared. As long as you believe in yourself, you can do anything. But we're only human, after all. We still feel, even the most disgusting feelings like fear."**

He thought back then that Yuki didn't understand his perspective on fear. And he still believed that now. Yuki is strong, mature (though she can be childish at times though that could be because of Gon's influence), and fearless. _'She doesn't know.'_ He shook his head fiercely and gritted his teeth as he quickened his pace, almost forgetting that Kurapika was behind him. _'No, I shouldn't think like that! Stop these thoughts, Gon!'_ He huffed and whispered to himself, "This is why I don't like reflecting." He smiled a bit. _'But still, I'm really feeling excited even with the fear and all.'_

Kurapika, in the meantime, just raised an eyebrow curiously but he didn't say anything.

At this point, two hundred twenty examinees already dropped out of the Hunter Exams, leaving one hundred forty-eight examinees.

 **ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ** **TO BE CONTINUED ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ**

Author's Note: Hmmm, something happened but I don't want to think about it.

 **Next Chapter: Chapter 6: Pigs Are Almost Flying**

 **Expect in Chapter 6: Food, Cooks, Assholes**

See you next time! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	7. Pigs Are Almost Flying

Author's Note: You bitches are awesome. Read _Hunter Academy_ , my new awesome story. YES!

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

 **Chapter 6: Pigs Are Almost Flying**

Kurapika and Gon finally arrived at the location of the Hunter Exams' Phase Two. They saw some of the examinees panting hard and there were also few who were on the ground, unconscious from the running.

"Looks like we made it on time." Kurapika noted.

"Where are Yuki and Leorio though?" Gon looked around with a worried expression. He suddenly felt someone staring at him. Turning to the person staring at him, who was apparently Hisoka, he watched the index finger pointing at the left. That's when he saw the two, leaning by a tree. He raan towards them, shouting, "Yuki! Leorio!"

Kurapika followed after Gon and stopped in front of the two. Yuki was breathing heavily while Leorio was conscious. "Are you two alright?"

"Man, it stings like a bitch slap." Leorio grumbled as he rubbed his bruising cheek. "What the hell happened to me?"

"Eh?" Yuki finally calmed down and was surprised at what Leorio just said. "You don't remember?"

"All I remember is you French-kissing this guy with red-"

"Shut the fuck up, Leorio!" Yuki covered his mouth quickly. "Why do you have to remember that, you ass?!" _'And I can't help it when he suddenly pushed me and kissed my lips just because I groped his sexy back too many times!'_

"Why you sho defenshive? It wash pretty hot though."

Kurapika leaned down at Gon to whisper, "I think it would be better if we don't find out what Leorio is talking about and we don't tell Leorio about what he doesn't remember."

Gon chuckled at that. "True."

"Gon! Yuki!" Killua ran towards them. "I thought you two wouldn't make it."

Yuki stood up from her position of almost suffocating Leorio and dropped an arm at Killua's shoulder. "A little bribery and blackmail is what you need."

"And I tracked Leorio's and Yuki's scents." Gon added with a smile.

"What?" Killua blinked, flabbergasted. "You two are definitely weird like seriously."

"We get that a lot." Yuki patted Killua's head.

"Don't treat me like a dog!"

"But you're so fluffy! I think I'm gonna die!"

"What are you talking about?!"

Gon laughed at their antics. Kurapika shook his head in amusement. Leorio was still nursing his own injury but then, he tapped Yuki and asked, "Dude, did someone gnaw on your neck or something?"

Yuki gingerly touched her nape and winced at the scabbing nail wounds from Hisoka. "People tend to be rough on cute girls like me."

"...I will ignore that you just called yourself cute, you fucking narcissist."

Satotz cleared his throat. "Good job, everyone! Welcome to Biska Forest Park, the location of Phase Two! And with that, my job without pay is done. Good luck to everyone." Then, he calmly walked away.

"That was uneventful." Yuki pouted in disappointment. _'As always, Satotz is still boring.'_

Killua rolled his eyes. "Let's just get this over with."

As if spurred on by Killua's comments, the huge metal gates in front of them opened up, revealing a huge mansion with a large man and a sexy woman sitting by the porch.

"Welcome!" The sexy woman exclaimed. "All those who passed Phase One, come on in! I'm Menchi, the examiner of Phase Two."

"And I'm Buhara, the other examiner." The large man waved at the examinees.

The examinees went in then stopped in front of the porch. Gon, Killua, Yuki, Kurapika, and Leorio traded glances in confusion, not really understanding what Phase Two is about. Suddenly, a loud rumbling was heard throughout the area.

Menchi smirked and faced Buhara. "You must be really hungry. Poor boy."

"Yeah, I'm really hungry." Buhara groaned and frowned like a sad puppy.

"And there you have it, folks." Menchi stood up and cocked her hip to one side. "Phase Two will consist of...cooking!"

"Cooking?!" Todo, the wrestler, shouted in disbelief. "We're here to take the Hunter Exams!"

"Yep! All you have to do is cook for us that will satisy our tummies."

"But still, why cooking?!"

Menchi laughed at that. "Why? Because we're...Gourmet Hunters!"

After a short silence, most of the examinees laughed. After all, Gourmet Hunters were unheard of and unpopular. They didn't really believe it.

Menchi frowned and crossed her arms on her chest. _'Sure, laugh all you can. Let's see who gets the last laugh here.'_

 **(** **・** **_** **・** **)** **ノ** **(** **・** **_** **・** **)** **ノ** **(** **・** **_** **・** **)** **ノ**

Satotz sat on one of the tree branches and watched the Phase Two happening through his binocular. _'Hmmm, Menchi and Buhara, huh? They are very picky...especially Menchi.'_ He hummed thoughtfully. _'At most, fifty examinees... No, less than ten examinees will be left depending on the task.'_

Then, he snickered. _'What will be interesting are Yuki's actions.'_

 **(** **・** **_** **・** **)** **ノ** **(** **・** **_** **・** **)** **ノ** **(** **・** **_** **・** **)** **ノ**

"I don't know them." Yuki muttered then sighed. "They're a new generation of Hunters."

"Wow, for once, you don't know someone." Leorio teased.

"What do you mean by new generation?" Kurapika asked with a raised eyebrow. _'She's really knowledgeable about Hunters. Very strange and suspicious.'_

Yuki only shrugged. "I didn't know that there were Gourmet Hunters. Probably a new field of expertise."

"Whoa, amazing." Gon smiled brightly.

Killua huffed quietly. _'Amazing, huh? More like suspicious. How come she knows things like that? Isn't that classified or whatever?'_

The five snapped out of their thoughts when Todo spoke up, "So, Gourmet Hunters, what are we supposed to make?"

Too pissed off, Menchi huffed angrily. "Buhara!"

"Okay!" Buhara stood up, almost shaking the earth from his weight, and announced, "The required ingredient is pork! You can use any species of pig from the Biska Forest. Also, you must use the cooking materials in here to prepare your dishes. To pass, the both of us must find it delicious."

"And we don't evaluate by just taste alone. Don't underestimate cooking." Menchi warned, still feeling annoyed at the insults given to them. "And if we're both full, the exam ends."

"We got it, okay?" Todo said impatiently. "Let's just start."

Buhara flinched at the angry aura Menchi was giving off. "Alright then! Phase Two will now start!" He slammed a hand on his own stomach, making it sound like a gong.

The examinees then started to run towards the forest. Menchi snorted and told Buhara, "Any species of pig in Biska Forest? I must say, you're really evil, Buhara."

"Choosing the ingredients is my job." Buhara defended although he was smiling.

"There's only one species of pig in Biska Forest, right?"

"Yup. I hope they don't get themselves killed. I wouldn't mind that though."

Then, the two Gourmet Hunters laughed evilly.

 **(○** **ε´○)** **／＼** **(○** **ε´○) (○** **ε´○)** **／＼** **(○** **ε´○) (○** **ε´○)** **／＼** **(○** **ε´○)**

"Catch a pig then cook it. This is definitely easier than Phase One." Leorio told the other four. The five of them were walking together, looking around for pigs to catch and cook.

"I hope it is that simple." Kurapika muttered in a deadpan.

"Don't worry. We'll make it...shit!" Yuki screamed as she suddenly slid down the hill.

Gon and Killua perked up at that and slid down after her, laughing. Leorio and Kurapika shared a look then also slid down. But, Yuki stopped at the end, making the others crash on her back.

"Hey, why did you stop, Yuki?" Killua shouted.

"That's because I'm seeing pigs...giant pigs to be exact." Yuki pointed in front of them. There were huge pigs. They looked normal at first sight, pink and fat, but they were a bit different from normal pigs. Their snouts were pretty large and their mouths showed canines.

"Uh, they're chewing on bones." Leorio noted.

"We can see that, Leorio." Kurapika retorted. "Don't tell me they're carnivorous."

One of the huge pigs broke a bone in half then oinked loudly that it sounded more like a roar.

"Run!" Gon yelled and they ran away from the horde of huge pigs. The creatures ran after them, naturally. They encountered other examinees and since they didn't expect a horde of huge pigs running towards them, they didn't manage to dodge and were blown away by the snouts of the pigs.

"Shit! These pigs are batshit crazy!" Leorio quickened his pace.

"Of course! The Hunter Exams are never easy after all!" Yuki exclaimed.

"Now I remember! They're called Great Stamps!" Kurapika informed. "They use their large snouts to send their enemies flying away. If we get caught, we'll get eaten!"

"We didn't need to know that! It's already happening!" Killua groaned out loud. Then, he saw one coming after Gon. "Look out, Gon!"

"Alright!" Gon took out his fishing pole and attacked the pig with it but he was too slow. The huge pig hit him with its snout, pushing him away. The creature didn't expect for a tree to get in its way so it crashed to it.

"Nice one, Gon!" Yuki cheered.

Gon shook his head and was about to attack again when he saw the fruits of the tree drop on the pig's forehead. That made the pig cry in pain. He grinned widely. "Now I get it!" He jumped in the air and with a battle cry, he hit the Great Stamp on the forehead, knocking it unconscious.

"Oh! So that's their weak point, huh?" Killua smirked and rode his skateboard. He used it to hit one of the running Great Stamps, knocking it out. "Awesome!"

"So they evolved their huge snouts so that they could protect their soft foreheads." Kurapika used his wooden Bokken swords to attack the pig.

"Let's not sweat with the details and catch one!" Yuki drop-kicked one of the Great Stamps.

"Damn it, guys! Wait for me!" Leorio growled and swung his suitcase, hitting the pig at the weak point.

Most of the other examinees saw that so they did other methods to catch their own Great Stamp. All in all, it was pretty damn easy.

At the same tree branch, Satotz was still looking at the examinees. _'It would seem that this year, there are a lot of talented ones. However, the difficult part hasn't started yet.'_

 **｢** **(** **o≦** **)** **ﾉ ｢** **(** **o≦** **)** **ﾉ ｢** **(** **o≦** **)** **ﾉ**

Buhara gawked at the sight of the examinees running back to them, each carrying a Great Stamp on their arms and backs. "Amazing..." He could feel drool flowing out of his mouth. "I can't wait to eat..."

Menchi sighed but inwardly, she was impressed. "They caught a lot, huh?" She watched as the examinees started a fire on the grills provided. "But they're still quite stupid."

After a while, the first to come over them was Todo, the annoying one. "Go ahead and eat it so that I could pass to the next phase."

"Alright alright." Menchi rolled her eyes and leaned forward. "It's evaluation time then. Taste test." She took hold of a fork and pierced through the pig.

Buhara, meanwhile, gave a thumbs-up while eating wholeheartedly. "Delicious!"

Todo smirked at that but then, he saw a thumbs-down from Menchi. "Eh? What?"

"It's overcooked." Menchi told him. "The tough texture ruins the taste so that's a no from me. Too bad."

"Hey! I didn't see you taste it!"

"I can see it in front of me, dumbass!"

"Damn it!"

Hanzo was next. A thumbs-up from Buhara. A thumbs-down from Menchi. "Why?!"

"Burnt on the outside, raw on the inside! Definitely not delicious!"

Great Stamp after Great Stamp was offered to them by the examinees and all of them were cooked in the same way which pissed Menchi off. _'It's as if roasting is the only way they know how to cook it! Goddamn, it's pork! There are a lot of recipes for pork and that's all they do?! They're not making an effort!'_

At one of the cooking tables, Leorio, Gon, and Kurapika were staring at the examiners.

"No one's passed yet." Leorio commented.

"And Menchi hasn't taken a bite." Kurapika added.

"Ne, what do you think Yuki's doing?" Gon asked curiously. The other two stopped staring at the examiners and glanced at where Yuki was slicing the pig.

Yuki heard them though. "I'm making barbeque. I'm not familiar with roast pig so I'm doing this. There's an available barbeque sauce here anyway."

"Wow. You know how to cook?" Leorio blinked in surprise.

"Nah, not really. Only familiar since I've seen Mito-san do this. Just trying to copy her, I guess."

"I see! That's amazing, Yuki!" Gon exclaimed happily.

Kurapika had an idea and snapped his fingers. "Now I get it! This is a cooking test so they're judging us through originality and observation. Yuki's already doing that so let's try it!"

Gon and Leorio nodded in agreement and went to work. Yuki glanced at them once in a while but continued her work. _'Man, I'm really doing it. I'm cooking! And I haven't exploded anything!'_ She grinned like a maniac. _'Let's do this shit!'_

Leorio was the first to finish and presented a roasted Great Stamp with a handmade flag with the logo of the Hunter Association drawn on it.

Menchi threw it up in the air furiously. "What the fuck do you think is this?! A kiddy meal?!"

Buhara caught it happily in his arms. Leorio walked away dejectedly.

Next was Gon and gave the examiners a roasted Great Stamp covered artistically with pink flowers and ribbons.

Menchi shoved it away. "It's the same damn thing! And where the hell did you get those?!"

Buhara caught it happily. Gon also walked away dejectedly. On his way back, Yuki patted his shoulder with a solemn nod then went back to her cooking.

Kurapika was the next one. He showed a roasted Great Stamp with various ingredients stuffed inside.

"Oh finally. Something that resembles a meal." Menchi grumbled out and took a piece of pork with her fork then chewed on it.

 _'The point is to use the provided cooking materials to highlight the required ingredient, which is the pork.'_ Kurapika narrowed his eyes. _'In other words, the taste is not important!'_ His eyes widened when the sexy woman spit out the food.

"Yuck!" Menchi wiped her mouth. "I know that appearance is important but only if the taste is good! You're no better than number 403 and his fucking kiddy meal!"

Kurapika's jaw dropped and he slowly walked back to the others, feeling devastated. Leorio laughed at his expression. "Too bad, Kurapika."

"No better than number 403." Kurapika dropped his head on the counter. "That's just humiliating."

"Don't worry, Kurapika!" Yuki smirked confidently. "I'm definitely better than Leorio and you!"

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?!"

Menchi hummed as she stared at the barbeque in front of her. "Finally, something that's not roast pork." She glanced at the blonde girl that served it. _'She seems familiar but I don't really know her.'_

Buhara picked one of the sticks and ate all of the pork on it. "Delicious!" He gave a thumbs-up.

 _'Might as well try it.'_ Menchi shrugged then ate the barbeque. She even swallowed it.

Yuki blinked and crossed her arms. "So? How is it?" Almost all of the examinees were listening in.

"It's okay but I don't find it delicious." Menchi gave a thumbs-down. "I have finer tastes for barbeque than this."

"What?!" Yuki was surprised that she didn't pass. "I did all of that shit for nothing?!"

"Not my fault it's not delicious! Try again!"

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to right now?!"

"I'm talking to a little brat right now!"

"Did you just call me a little brat, you bitch cunt?!" _'Hey, I think I had someone call me that before...'_

"Excuse me! Who are you calling a bitch cunt?!"

Then, the two girls grabbed each others' hairs and went into a raging cat fight. The examinees watched in awe at the sudden fight between examinee and examiner. In the meantime, Gon, Leorio, and Kurapika were staring, flabbergasted at what was happening. Killua, who separated from the group for now, blinked in confusion at the sudden cat fight.

Buhara only patted his own stomach and burped. "Man, I'm stuffed. Since Menchi is too busy-" Menchi yelled out that she was stuffed, too, and continued pulling Yuki's hair. Yuki growled and bitch-slapped her. "-and no one passes so the Hunter Exams are over! Sorry but Menchi is the one in-charge here so I have no say."

The examinees were shocked by that.

"It's over?!"

"What the hell?!"

"That's not fair!"

 **(** **・** **_** **・** **)** **ノ** **(** **・** **_** **・** **)** **ノ** **(** **・** **_** **・** **)** **ノ**

Satotz sighed as he watched the bitch fight happen and the examinees shouting complaints. _'Looks like Menchi went into bitch mode because of Yuki. Not surprising since Menchi doesn't know the child and her personality.'_ He took out a phone and dialled a number he knows by heart. When it was answered by Beans, he explained the situation.

At a nearby airship with the Hunter Association's logo on it, Beans was worried at what Satotz just told him and explained it to the man in front of him. "What should we do, Chairman?"

The man was actually an old man, wearing a huge smirk on his face. "No choice then. It would seem that we'll have to interfere. Hohoho!"

Beans dropped his phone in shock. _'Oh no...is he serious?'_ At the continuous deranged Santa Claus laugh, he shuddered. _'He_ is _serious.'_

Back at the Biska Forest, Satotz stared at his phone which was echoing the familiar laugh of a certain Chairman. _'Looks like things became more interesting.'_

 **(** **・** **_** **・** **)** **ノ** **(** **・** **_** **・** **)** **ノ** **(** **・** **_** **・** **)** **ノ**

Yuki panted and growled once more when Menchi forced her arms in an awkward angle. She was really pissed off right now. "You really are a bitch, Menchi."

"And you're a little brat." Menchi growled back as she took a ribbon from somewhere and tied Yuki's arms together. "I ought to fail you for attacking an examiner but you know what? You already failed! All of you!"

"Don't give us that bullshit!" Todo punched the cooking table hard, breaking it in half. "I will not accept this!"

"So what? You still fail." Menchi sat on Yuki's legs to prevent her from moving away.

"You wanted pork so we risked our lives to catch and cook-"

"We specifically asked for a pork dish that we would both find delicious. None of you made a single dish that was even delicious! All of you did the same damn thing! Well, except for number 406 but I didn't really find her barbeque delicious."

"Why?! I didn't make anything explode so it's supposed to be delicious!" Yuki yelled out.

"I don't like the brand of barbeque sauce you used."

"And that's my fault?!"

"Well, anyway! No one made an effort!" Menchi ranted with a scowl. "There were those who changed the appearance but no one improved the flavor! You didn't take cooking seriously!"

Buhara sighed mentally, feeling tired and sleepy from all the food he ate. _'Menchi became a bitch again. No one can really satisfy her except for a handful of chefs in the world.'_

"All in all, you don't have the guts to try something new." Menchi concluded.

"Shut up!" Todo shouted, his face red in anger. "I don't even want to become a cook! I want to be a Blacklist Hunter!"

"Too fucking bad that you got stuck with a mere Gourmet Hunter as an examiner then. Good luck next year!"

Too angry to think straight, Todo ran straight to Menchi with his fist up. However, Buhara punched him first, throwing him back to the gates with a thud.

Menchi rolled her eyes. She was still sitting on Yuki's legs. "Buhara, don't interfere."

"If I hadn't, you would've killed him and traumatized the kid." Buhara pointed at Yuki in emphasis.

Yuki was shocked. "I'm not a kid! I'm nineteen and I'm not gonna be traumatized by mere killing."

"Shut up!" Menchi took out knives from her back and pointed them to the examinees. "We, Gourmet Hunters, go to dangerous places just so we could find new ingredients that would make new and delicious dishes. With your lack of initiative and willingness to try something new, all of you are already not qualified to become Hunters!"

That silenced the complaints. Kurapika and Leorio closed their eyes in shame while Gon and Killua shared a worried glance (although Killua was looking bored at what was happening).

But all of a sudden, a voice rang throughout the area. "That said, it would be excessive to fail every single examinee. Hohoho!"

Yuki's eyes widened. "That voice!" She knew that voice oh-so-well. She's been hearing it ever since she was just a baby after all. "Don't tell me-"

"Look! It's an airship!" One random examinee yelled out.

"And it has the Hunter Association's logo!"

They all stared when suddenly, a person dropped from the airship to the ground with no parachute whatsoever, covering the place with dust and pieces of rock. Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Leorio, and Yuki gawked at the sight of an old man walking calmly towards the blonde girl.

When the old man stopped in front of Yuki's face, with Menchi standing up and moving back, he said, "This is not what I imagined our reunion would be."

Yuki was too in shock but sarcastic words flowed out of her easily, "You're actually imagining things? You're admitting it?"

"You're still the same, kid." The old man rolled his eyes. "And here I thought you would at least mature in your travels. But still!" Then, abruptly, the old man cried and pulled Yuki into an embrace. "My sweet little girl! You're all grown up and beautiful! I missed you so much!"

"EH?!" The examinees screamed in shock.

"What's going on?" Killua questioned with a raised eyebrow. He and Gon went to Kurapika and Leorio.

"I have no idea." Kurapika replied.

Yuki blinked then smiled brightly. "It's been a while, old man!"

There was a short silence in the area before the old man broke it.

"That's what you tell me after seven years of not seeing me?!"

"What do you mean, seven years?! I see you all the time!"

"Not directly like this!"

"What the hell are you doing here anyway?!" Yuki broke from the embrace and glared at the old man. "I thought you only appear at the Final Phase."

The old man smirked and stood up. "This is special."

One random examinee asked a bit loudly. "Who is that geezer anyway?"

"This geezer is the Chairman of the Hunter Association, Isaac Netero." Menchi announced loudly.

"And this is my adopted granddaughter, Yuki Kura!" Netero pointed to the blonde girl on the ground with a huge smile.

There was another "EH?!" from the examinees.

"So that's what she's hiding." Kurapika murmured and nodded happily. "Now I know." No more thoughts of what Yuki is hiding anymore. It made Kurapika sigh in relief.

"Did you know that, Gon?!" Leorio shook the boy. "Yuki is like a celebrity!" To say he was shocked was a fucking understatement. He never expected that he would know the actual adopted granddaughter of Isaac Netero, the Chairman of Hunter Association.

Gon shook his head in confusion. "No, not really." Yuki never told him about that.

Killua then shrugged. "Well, it's a shock but meh, not that important."

"Killua, you don't understand." Leorio said seriously. "I only heard rumors about the adopted granddaughter. She's pretty much spoiled, loved, and insane. The insane part, I could understand."

"That's rude, Leorio." Kurapika was chuckling though.

Yuki sighed. "The secret's out." She stood up and broke the ribbon tying her hands easily. She turned to look at Menchi. "Surprised, aren't you?"

Menchi flinched a bit. "Of course I am. I didn't know that you were the adopted granddaughter."

"Hohoho!" Netero laughed his deranged Santa Claus laugh. "I actually have an issue with you fighting with Yuki but I won't put too much thought on that since Yuki is a bitch overall."

Yuki punched him on the gut, even if she knew that the old man wouldn't feel it one bit. "That's because of your shitty parental guidance."

"That and it's your natural personality but on the serious matter..." Netero cleared his throat. "I may just act behind the scenes but I enter the scene when an issue arises such as this. Menchi-kun, you failed all of the examinees because they are reluctant in trying..." His eyes dropped to Menchi's boobs quickly before they returned to her face. "...new things, is that correct?"

Menchi saw the movement of the Chairman's eyes but didn't comment on it. "Not really. I became enraged when one of the examinees insulted Gourmet Hunters. That's why I made the exam more difficult than necessary."

"Oh so you're aware that this kind of exam is unacceptable?"

"Yes, sir." Menchi bowed her head in apology. "When cooking is involved, I lose my cool. I'm not fit to be an examiner." She winced when she remembered what happened earlier. "Not to mention, I attacked and insulted an examinee who was only doing what Phase Two is about. I will now resign as examiner so I recommend that you redo Phase Two."

"It would be difficult to find a new examiner at this time." Netero then smiled. "Let's do this instead. Menchi-kun, you will still be the examiner for Phase Two but you will participate in the new test you propose. Is that alright? I'm sure most of the examinees would agree with those terms."

Menchi blinked in surprise then smiled back. "That's true. Alright, the next test will be cooking boiled eggs!"

Leorio looked at Gon, Killua, and Kurapika with wide eyes. "Wait, did she just say boiled eggs?"

"Chairman, can you please take us to Mount Split-In-Half in your airship?" Menchi requested.

Netero understood and grinned. "No problem at all. Alright, examinees, please enter the airship in an orderly manner."

Yuki discreetly tried to walk back towards Gon and the others but she paused when Netero gazed at her with hard eyes. "What is it, Gramps?"

"You will explain to me what happened to you that took you to where you are now." Netero wore a serious expression, becoming the overprotective adoptive grandfather that Yuki knew too well. "I always thought you didn't want to be a Hunter."

"It's complicated." Yuki turned away and walked towards Gon. "But I will explain to you later. When we have a lot of time."

"Good girl."

"Shut up."

"What was that all about?" Leorio questioned when Yuki arrived at their little group.

"It's...complicated." Yuki inhaled then exhaled slowly. "And this is just the beginning."

"The beginning of what?" Gon asked curiously.

Yuki smirked wrly. "Of a wild adventure for all five of us. I can feel it."

Killua snorted at that. He really didn't care about what he just learned now. After all, his own family history was not that great, too. "You're weird before but now, you're definitely weirder." Yuki just laughed at the statement.

Kurapika cleared his throat, feeling a bit awkward now that he knew Yuki's sort-of secret. "Anyway, let's go then."

"Don't worry, guys." As if she knew what Kurapika was feeling, Yuki smiled at them. "Even if I'm the adopted granddaughter of the Chairman, I don't get special treatment. Gramps is not like that. He's overprotective but he knows I'm strong enough." She snorted. "If he did give me special treatment, I'll kill him. And I'm serious with that."

They didn't doubt it. And with that, they went in the airship that landed.

 **（ﾟ∈ﾟ） （ﾟ∈ﾟ） （ﾟ∈ﾟ）**

Mount Split-In-Half was aptly named on the mountain-like plateau that was literally split in half. They landed near the split and walked towards it.

Menchi placed her hands on her hips. "Look down and see for yourself."

"What is that?" Gon asked in amazement. It was a bit foggy below but he saw white lines stretched in between the rock walls. A strong wind from the split suddenly hit him on the face.

"Those are Spider Eagle webs. Look below the webs."

"Eggs!" Yuki exclaimed when she saw a bundle of webs with huge eggs in them.

"Those are Spider Eagle eggs." Netero explained with a smile as he watched Yuki's childish actions. "Spider Eagles build their nests in deep ravines like this one to prevent predators from eating the eggs. That is why Spider Eagle eggs are one of the ingredients most difficult to obtain. They are also called dream eggs though I wonder why?" He chuckled.

"Shit, does that mean..." Leorio didn't finish the statement when suddenly, Menchi dropped down the split. "Holy shit!"

The examinees watched Menchi who grabbed onto one of the string of webs and waited there.

"Even if she gets an egg, how would she climb back up?" Kurapika hummed out.

When Menchi felt a slight breeze, she released her hold on the web and free-fell. She took one egg from the bundle and continued falling.

"Is she trying to kill herself?" Leorio muttered as he scratched the back of his head. He was definitely out of his element in the Hunter Exams.

"No, she's not." Kurapika retorted. "Look."

Another huge gust of wind blew from the ravine, carrying Menchi with the Spider Eagle egg in her hands. Gon, Killua, and Yuki grinned widely at that.

"That looks fun!" Killua smirked. "Yuki, Gon, let's do it!"

"Of course!" Yuki smirked back, feeling excited.

"Deep ravines have strong updrafts that help the chicks in flying to the webs." Netero informed just as Menchi landed on her feet in front of him.

"Fuck that." Todo was shaking badly at the thought of falling through the canyon. "No reasonable person would do that!"

"Who says that there aren't unreasonable examinees!" Yuki cheered as she simultaneously jumped in the split with Gon, Killua, Leorio, and Kurapika.

"That's only you, Yuki!" Leorio joked and laughed out loud as they grabbed on a string of web.

The other examinees followed what they did without care. Menchi spluttered out, "Hey! I haven't finished explaining yet!" She sighed when no one listened to her. "Well, too bad for those who fall."

"When are we gonna let go?" Leorio asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not now." Gon told them.

"There's no wind yet." Killua added as he looked down.

"There isn't always an updraft." Kurapika murmured.

"Gon, when's the next one?" Yuki questioned.

"Wait." Gon closed his eyes and focused his senses on below. Most of the examinees were now watching them so that they'll now when to jump off, too.

All of a sudden, the string of web they were holding on dropped a bit. Leorio cursed at that. "What the fuck?!"

"The web can't hold all of us!" Kurapika yelled out.

Killua was calm as he glanced at the other boy. "Gon, not yet?"

"We are fucked if an updraft doesn't come right now!" Yuki shouted when the string dropped down again. The string was barely holding on the rock walls.

Gon opened his eyes when he smelled the upcoming air from below. "Now!"

At his shout, they let go of the web and each took an egg from the bundles. The other examinees did that, too. Netero watched with a low laugh when he felt the strong wind from the split. "There they go." He felt giddy at the huge smiles on the examinees faces as they flew up with help from the strong gust of wind. He was especially happy to see the carefree smile on his adopted granddaughter's face. _'She changed but I'm not sure if it's good or not.'_

Menchi looked back. "And the others?" There were few examinees left who were too scared to jump off the canyon.

"It takes courage to admit defeat, you know." Netero said in a wise voice.

Menchi's eyes widened at the Chairman's words and bit her lip. _'That's right. I should apologize to Yuki even if she is a bitch.'_ She snorted and laughed quietly. _'As if I'm not.'_

Once the examinees all landed on the ground, they gave their eggs to Menchi who prepared a huge pot of water to boil the eggs in. After a while, the boiled Spider Eagle eggs were done and given back to the examinees.

"Delicious!" Yuki moaned as she chewed on the soft and moist boiled egg.

"This is the best damn boiled egg I've eaten in my entire life!" Leorio slowly savored the taste in his mouth. Since his family was only poor, he rarely got to eat eggs since they were quite expensive but now, he was so fucking glad that he participated in the Hunter Exams just so he could eat a delicacy like that.

"I can see how they're called dream eggs now." Kurapika said after he swallowed.

"True that." Killua agreed and gobbled up the boiled egg.

Menchi grinned at the blissful faces of the eating examinees. She hummed in surprise when she saw number 405, the little boy, went to the annoying Todo.

"Todo-san, do you want to taste it?" Gon offered his boiled Spider Eagle egg.

"Eh? Uh, sure." Todo took a bite and gasped. "It's delicious!"

"Now you know the joy of discovering something new that could taste so good." Menchi told him. "We, Gourmet Hunters, risk our lives for that joy, you know."

Todo sighed sadly but showed a small grin. "I am defeated this year but I'll come back next year! I won't give up!" Then, he bowed. "I apologize for my insults to the Gourmet Hunters."

"And I'm sorry for taking my rage out on you." Menchi turned to Yuki and bowed. "And to you, too, Yuki-san."

"Whoa, Yuki-san?!" Yuki stepped back and raised her hands. "I'm only nineteen. No need to add that."

Menchi pouted. "But I'm only eighteen so technically, you're older than me."

"What?! Are you fucking serious?!"

Menchi suddenly laughed. "Well, whatever. You're still a bitch."

"Bitch Goddess. Remember that." Yuki grinned wickedly. "Good luck to you, Gourmet Hunters."

"Good luck, examinees." Menchi said loudly, earning her cheers and laughs.

Gon giggled. He was having so much fun in the Hunter Exams. It didn't matter that Yuki was the adopted granddaughter of Netero-san. It didn't change the fact that Yuki was still Yuki and having new friends like Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio just made his life merrier.

All in all, the examinees learned that no matter what kind of person you are, being a Hunter requires a huge amount of determination and courage. Only forty-two examinees left that will proceed to Phase Three.

 **ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ** **TO BE CONTINUED ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ**

Author's Note: Dialogs and quotation marks everywhere. Lovely, right, bitches? Read _Hunter Academy_ because I'm actually excited about that but you don't really care about my feelings about it. Just read!

 **Next Chapter: Chapter 7: Airship Madness**

 **Expect in Chapter 7: Ball, Assassins, Evil Aura**

See you next time! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	8. Airship Madness

Author's Note: I would love to ride an airship...and something else. HA! You dirty and cute bitches. I still love you guys.

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

 **Chapter 7: Airship Madness**

It was a bright and starry night. After completing Phase Two of the Hunter Exams, the examinees who passed were now in the airship that's on its way to Phase Three's location. Currently, the forty-two remaining examinees were at the sort of dock of the airship with Chairman Isaac Netero and Beans in front of them.

"Allow me to introduce myself again-" Netero cleared his throat to hide his laugh. "-formally. I am Isaac Netero, Chairman of the Hunter Association."

"And I am Beans, his secretary." The green jellybean anthromorphic being waved.

"I'm also number 406, Yuki Kura's, adoptive grandfather but that doesn't mean she gets special treatment because in seriousness, she doesn't deserve it."

"Hey! Rude much!" Yuki shouted angrily.

"I still love you, by the way." Netero winked and laughed at his adopted granddaughter's flinch. "Anyway, I planned to appear at the Final Phase but now that I'm here..." He trailed off, watching how the examinees' eyes hardened at him. "Oh damn! I'm loving the tension."

Gon blinked in confusion, not really feeling any tension. He glanced at his friends and saw that they were acting normally so he just shrugged to himself and continued listening.

"That's why I decided to stay for the rest of the trip. Hohoho!" Netero laughed his deranged Santa Claus laugh.

Beans discreetly stepped away from his more than insane boss. "We'll be arriving at the site tomorrow morning, at eight o' clock. Dinner will be served at the dining hall. You may rest during the trip. All in all, you can do whatever you want until the deadline tomorrow."

Killua grinned and whispered, "Gon, Yuki, let's explore the airship."

"Alright!" Gon smiled widely.

"Sorry but I'll have to decline." Yuki sighed sadly.

"Eh? Why?" Killua frowned at her.

Yuki pointed her thumb at the waiting figure of Netero. "I still owe him that serious talk."

"But Yuki..." Gon pouted. It always made him sad whenever Yuki separates from him, even if it was only for a few hours.

Yuki smiled a little and ruffled both the boys' heads. "Don't be sad. Be good and don't cause too much trouble, okay? I want to be with you guys when you get in trouble."

"That's what you're concerned of?" Killua muttered in a deadpan voice but a smirk appeared on his lips. "You'll miss out then! Let's go, Gon!"

Gon smiled and briefly hugged Yuki. "See you later, Yuki!"

"Laters!" Yuki watched Gon and Killua grin and sprint out of the room, into the hallways. She then eyed Kurapika and Leorio. "Wow, you guys look beat."

"Of course we are." Leorio grumbled and yawned. "We haven't gotten a decent rest since we started the Hunter Exams like what the fuck?"

"You can say that again." Kurapika murmured with drowsy brown eyes. "I could use the rest. I'm actually wondering how Gon and Killua can have so much energy."

"They're kids." Yuki shrugged. "They're supposed to be like that. Oh fuck, gotta go." She shuddered at the sight of Netero waving his arms around like a maniac. "He's getting antsy. See you around!"

"...Right." Leorio grimaced while he watched Yuki get hugged tightly to the point of breaking ribs by the crazy old Chairman. "You know, Kurapika, I'm getting the feeling that Yuki is really insane and at the same time, really dangerous. Is she alright?"

Kurapika was shocked by Leorio's words however, he only nodded slowly. "I agree with you on that. I don't know her quite well yet but I have a hunch that she still has a lot more skeletons in her closet. She's gonna be alright though."

Leorio shook his head. "Alright, whatever. I'm too tired to think about this shit. Let's go hit the sack already."

"I have a question actually." Kurapika added as they started walking towards the door. "Just how many phases are there?"

"Now that I think of it, they didn't say anything about it."

Tonpa then suddenly appeared in frront of them, making them stop in their tracks. "In average, there are five to six phases in the Hunter Exams."

Leorio raised an eyebrow, not really in the mood to argue with the Rookie Crusher. He decided to be amicable. "That means we still have three or four more phases to go."

"All the more reason to rest." Kurapika muttered. He wanted to at least sit down and meditate.

"But you should be careful." Tonpa warned. "The secretary only told us when we'll arrive at the site. It's possible that Phase Three will start in this airship. It also doesn't mean we'll be called at eight o' clock tomorrow."

"What the fuck? Are you fucking serious?!" Leorio groaned in exasperation.

"That makes some sense." Kurapika nodded.

"You might wake up to find out that you already failed just because you didn't know that Phase Three was already starting." Tonpa shrugged and smiled innocently...or as innocently as he can be. "So, be on your guard in this airship. Let's do our best!" _'Yeah, as if. Here's to hoping you're gonna be nervous wrecks at the end of the trip, losers!'_

"Ugh, what the hell..." Leorio smiled a bit. "Well, thanks for the advice."

"We'll bear that in mind." Kurapika dipped his head slightly and walked out of the room with Leorio beside him.

They entered a random room with some of the examinees in it. Leorio plopped down the floor and leaned his head back on the wall. Kurapika sat beside him, crossing his legs and thinking, _'Phase Three will definitely not be in this airship. Beans-san wouldn't say to us that we are free to do what we want. We would've been told to stay put.'_ Then, the blonde heard snores. He glanced at Leorio, who was snoring and drooling already. _'At least, he didn't believe in Tonpa. Good job.'_ Not worried anymore, he slowly released the tension in his body and relaxed his mind.

 **ヘ（。□** **）ヘ ヘ（。□** **）ヘ ヘ（。□** **）ヘ**

Yuki and Netero sat in front of each other, empty plates and dirty untensils scattered on the table between them. The steaming cups of hot chocolate were the only ones left untouched. They were silent while they were eating, but now, the serious talk was about to begin.

"First of all, why are you not with Ging?" Netero started.

"He left me at Whale Island." Was Yuki's blunt answer.

"Isn't Whale Island his hometown?"

"Yep. And that's where his son lives."

If Netero was drinking something, he would've spit it out and choked. "What?! A son?!"

"That's actually part of my reaction." Yuki snickered at the memory but then frowned. "He practically dumped me there to take care of Gon, his little boy. My god, Gramps, Gon is totally a miniature Ging that it's really creepy."

"Would that be number 405?" Netero remembered the boy from Phase Two. The one with the big brown eyes full of childish innocence and joy.

"That's him. Gon Freecss." Yuki leaned back and crossed her arms above her breasts. "He's a sweetheart and I've known him for about three years now."

"I suspected that you weren't with Ging but I didn't expect that to happen. So, you just stayed in Whale Island and what?"

"I lived with the Freecss Family while I stayed there and practically freeloaded there. I paid them...discreetly, of course, but nonetheless, that's what happened."

Netero wasn't convinced yet. "What happened before you were dumped to Whale Island? I know something happened and I can find out what it is easily but I don't want to do that. I want to know from you, Yuki. Will you tell me?"

Yuki looked away, feeling a bit guilty for she knew that when her adoptive grandfather found out what she did with Ging, he'll go on a rampage and immediately beat the guy to a pulp. _'I can't let that happen! I'm supposed to be the one to beat him up!'_ "No, I won't tell you."

"Figures." Netero rolled his eyes. "And here I thought this would be a serious talk with honesty and feels but no, you had to be secretive."

"It's just the beginning after all." Yuki joked with a wink. "You'll find out soon. Probably after a few years."

"We'll see about that. But in all seriousness, I'm glad to see you alive and healthy."

"Thanks, Gramps."

"I see you've made friends, besides Gon-kun. Are they rookies?"

Yuki laughed. "Yeah, they're rookies. Gon and I met Kurapika Kurta and Leorio Paladiknight at the ship departing from Whale Island."

"Kurta?!" Netero's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. "Holy shit, Yuki, there's actually a survivor?!"

Yuki nodded, a serious expression on her face. "He wants to become a Blacklist Hunter to kill the Genei Ryodan and avenge the Kurta Clan."

"What a small world." Netero shook his head and sipped from his now warm hot chocolate, lamenting that it wasn't _sake_ or at least, whiskey. "I don't know the Leorio guy but..." His eyes suddenly filled with fire. "...I seem to get a gut feeling that you're a tad closer to him than the others."

"You can call us best friends forever or something." Yuki guffawed at her own words. "He's practically a normal and perfectly awesome male Yuki. We get along and yeah, we argue, but that's nothing. I like him because he's a genuine guy."

"I see." Netero calmed down at that. He knew that Yuki wasn't feeling any romantic feelings for the guy. "What about number 99, Killua-kun?"

"Of course you would know him." Yuki sipped from her own cup of hot chocolate. She recognized Killua from the first time she saw the boy but she didn't think much about it. "I'm not that close to him yet but I can consider him and Gon to be on the same level. They're like little brothers from different mothers."

"That's a weird way to describe them but whatever works. You're quite fond of them."

"Gramps, they're motherfucking adorable and also, they're very talented and strong. Why wouldn't I be fond of them?" Yuki couldn't stop the soft smile that formed on her lips. "I want to see them grow into fine men. I want to be there beside them while they go through the hardships of reality."

"Just like a mother, huh?" Netero meant it as a compliment. He also smiled, albeit less happy than Yuki's. _'She's growing up and changing so fast. Where the hell did time go? I feel like she was just a little baby yesterday.'_

"Happy with the talk, Gramps?" Yuki murmured, as if hesitant to break the gentle atmosphere.

"Yes, I'm very happy." Netero stretched his arm out to hold Yuki's calloused and strong but still feminine hand. "And I'm very elated that you're gonna be a Hunter."

"You just want to boss me around, Chairman Gramps." Yuki teased.

Netero chuckled. "That and I will be very proud to one day call you one of the finest and strongest Hunters in my generation. Wouldn't you like that? You'll be at the same level as Ging."

"Ugh, yeah." Yuki snorted and pulled her hand away. "I just want the benefits of being a Hunter."

"Yes, yes. You may have grown up but you're still retaining your bitchy gold-digger attitude."

"Why the fuck did you just say that to your own adopted granddaughter?!"

"It's the truth anyway!" Netero laughed heartily. "But I'm still very surprised to see you in the Hunter Exams. Good luck on the rest of the phases!"

That was Yuki's cue to stand up. "Right. See you, Gramps!" She grinned and ran out of the room, her cup of hot chocolate already empty.

Netero casually drank his own hot chocolate. He kept staring at Yuki's seat and thinking, _'Just like what she said, this is only the beginning.'_ He closed his eyes, feeling weary all of a sudden. _'I...don't have much time left. I could feel it. Actually, I shouldn't be thinking about morbid thoughts like these.'_ He shook his head and smile ruefully. _'But...an old man can't help it, can he?'_

But then, an idea popped in his head. _'Oh, I like that! Let's do it!'_

 **(** **ﾟ** **д** **ﾟ** **) (** **ﾟ** **д** **ﾟ** **) (** **ﾟ** **д** **ﾟ** **)**

Yuki hummed as she walked at the hallway, looking for Gon and Killua. The almost heart-to-heart talk lightened up her steps but at the same time, it dampened her mood but she didn't show it. _'Damn you, Ging, and your stupidity.'_ It was becoming her common thought everyday, which annoyed her. But that annoyance disappeared when Yuki heard a shout from one of the doors.

"You brats! Stay out of the kitchen and eat at the damn dining hall!" The door opened, revealing Gon and Killua, each holding a slab of roast beef. The two boys were thrown out by the chef who closed the door behind them with a slam.

Yuki laughed out loud, making the two boys whip their heads towards her direction. "I fucking told you guys to not get in trouble without me!"

"Yuki! You're back!" Gon ran to her and hugged her tightly.

Killua was only nonchalant as he chewed on the roast beef. "Welcome back. And we were too tired of waiting for you so we went ahead."

"Sure, you are." Yuki ruffled both their hairs. "Let me have a taste of that roast beef."

And so, the three of them toured the rest of the airship with no care about where they'll go. While throwing out the bones at a garbage can, Killua glanced at the window and was in awe at the sight. "Hey, guys, check it out!"

Gon was the first to go beside Killua to see the landscape full of bright lights and twinkling stars. "Wow, it's so amazing!"

Yuki just smiled and stared outside, standing beside Killua so the silver-white-haired boy was in between her and Gon. "It is awesome."

There was a brief and comfortable silence until Gon broke it with a question. "Killua, where are your mom and dad?"

Killua hummed thoughtfully. "They're alive...probably."

"Probably?" Yuki chuckled at that. "That's a weird afterthought."

"Yuki, that's rude." Gon pouted and poked her on the arm. "By the way, what do they do, Killua?"

Killua mentally debated if he should tell the truth or twist the truth. In the end, he decided to be blunt about it so he'll know what would Yuki and Gon's reactions will be. "They're assassins."

"Huh?" Gon blinked in confusion. "Both of them?"

Killua and Yuki burst out laughing at that, surprising Gon.

"That's your first reaction?" Killua wiped the tears that formed in his eyes from the hard laughter. "You're really weird, Gon! And Yuki! Why did you laugh, too?"

"Because I was about to ask if you have siblings and if they're assassins too." Yuki was still giggling. Even if she knew who Killua was, it was too amusing for her to watch Gon's reaction.

Killua huffed and smirked at that. "Let me tell you guys more then."

They sat down at a nearby bench by the windows with a sort-of counter in front of it, with Killua still at the middle.

"You know what, Gon." Killua started to say. "You're the first person to ask seriously after they hear that my parents are assassins."

Gon placed his arms on the counter, crossing them. "But you're telling the truth, right?"

"What makes you say that?"

"Just a hunch."

Killua plopped his head down. "That's weird. People only like me because they can't really tell if I'm serious or not."

"And also, Yuki is an assassin."

"What?!" Yuki's eyes widened. "Where the fuck did you hear that, Gon?"

"When I was ten, you mentioned that you're the Assassin Princess back when a bad man appeared at our house."

 _'Now I remember!'_ She slapped a hand to her forehead. _'Damn it, Gon, and damn your keen sense of hearing.'_ She knew that memory of a bad man suddenly appearing at the doorstep of the Freecss household, with a gun and ready to pull the trigger. It was a newbie assassin that was probably hired by someone who knew where Yuki Kura a.k.a Assassin Princess was. Luckily, she was the one who answered the door and quickly kicked the bad man away, making him roll down the hill. Then, she quickly killed him and chucked the body in the woods to feed the wild animals. They only had a short conversation of the normal 'You're the Assassin Princess?' and 'Yes, I am the Assassin Princess' but that was enough for Gon anyway.

"Whoa, wait! Hold up!" Killua's mind was reeling at the sudden fact that Yuki was indeed the Assassin Princess. "I can't believe it!"

"You better believe it!" Yuki bumped her shoulder with Killua's. "We're both assassins, sweetie."

"Here, I'm thinking that I'm gonna surprised you two but then you suddenly pulled up that Assassin Princess shit and shocked me more." Killua punched Gon's arm with some force. "That's for being so weird." Then, he pinched Yuki's cheek until the blonde girl was crying out 'ow'. "And that's for being the Assassin Princess."

Gon laughed happily. "Don't worry, Killua. Do you want us to act suprised then?"

"...Gon, sometimes you can be really deceiving at times." Killua muttered as he propped his head on his hand.

"True that." Yuki nodded in agreement.

"Anyway, to answer your questions, I'm from a family of assassins so yeah, all of them are assassins. My family has really high hopes for me...but I can't stand it." Killua scowled then slammed his hand down the counter. "When I told them that I would decide my own fate, they all snapped like crazy! My mother had tears flowing down her face as she told me that I could be a top assassin, or more precisely, a better assassin than the rip-off Assassin Princess blonde bimbo."

Yuki gaped at that. "Your mother called me a rip-off Assassin Princess blonde bimbo?! What the fuck, man?!"

"I know, right? I'm telling you that she's fucking insane." Killua forced out.

Gon laughed a bit awkwardly at the two. "Your family is really interesting, Killua."

"They're a horrible family." Killua rolled his eyes. "Of course, a kid would rebel against them. So, we fought. I stabbed my mother on the face, my second older brother on the stomach, and then, ran away. I'm sure they're out for my blood right now. If they manage to find me, I'll send them back crying!"

Yuki laughed out loud. "Oh my god, I can't stand this shit. It's too fucking funny."

"Maybe after I become a Hunter, I'll start by capturing them." Killua joked with a chuckle. "I'm sure they're worth a hell lot of money. I can also do that to Yuki so that we can get rid of her!"

"Hey!" Yuki wrapped an arm around Killua's neck and rubbed his head with her fist. "Say that one more time at my face!"

"Ow! Hey! Damn it, Yuki!"

Gon giggled at their antics. They continued to joke and tease each other, not noticing a certain old man watching them a few feet away until abruptly, the three felt a hard gaze pointed towards them. They turned around to look for the culprit but they saw no one.

Netero then appeared from the opposite direction from where they felt the gaze. "Is there something wrong?"

Killua glared at the old man, feeling his muscles tense and his suspicions rising. Yuki calmed down when she realized it was only her adoptive grandfather playing tricks at them. Gon, in the meantime, asked, "Netero-san, did you see someone over there?" and pointed at where the hard gaze came from.

Inwardly, Netero smirked but his face only showed an innocent smile. "No, not really."

Killua huffed. "You're pretty fast for an old man."

"That little trick? I barely even moved."

That put some tension in the air and Gon felt confused at the sudden change. Yuki sighed silently at the sight of Killua and Netero actually having a staredown. It was pretty funny but at the same time, it was tiring to look at.

"What do you want, old man?" Killua broke the silence. "You're not supposed to be messing with us until the Final Phase, right?"

"Don't be so harsh." Netero said calmly. "I was just bored and wanted some companions. I heard about you two from my cute adopted granddaughter so I became curious."

"Oh really?" Killua glanced at Yuki from the corner of his eyes.

Yuki whistled and turned away, not wanting to get involved. Gon chuckled at that and just shrugged with a smile.

Netero smiled, feeling giddy at how adorable the three kids were (even if Yuki Kura was technically an adult already but since her height doesn't really match up with her age, she can still be considered a kid in Netero's eyes). "By the way, I wanted to ask your thoughts about your first attempt in the Hunter Exams."

"It's fun!" Gon exclaimed with excitement in his voice. "And it's awesome that there aren't written exams that I'm fearing."

Killua only scowled. "It's disappointing. I thought the Hunter Exams will be far more difficult than this. The next phase will surely be interesting, right?"

Netero maintained his innocent facade. "I wouldn't know about that. I'm not the examiner for the next phase."

Throughly pissed off at the cunning old geezer, Killua turned away. "Let's go, Gon, Yuki!"

"Now wait just a minute, kids."

Gon and Killua looked at the Chairman and gawked when suddenly, Yuki was in the old man's arms with a katana pointed to slit at Yuki's throat in one small movement.

"Oh fuck." Yuki gulped and growled angrily. "What in the hell are you playing here, old man?"

"Good choice of words, dear child." Netero smiled. "Why don't we play a game first, boys?"

"A game?" Gon repeated, concern for his 'older sister' evident in his voice.

"If you manage to defeat me, I'll let you three become Hunters." Netero offered. "No issues whatsoever. How about it, huh?"

Killua narrowed his eyes, still feeling suspicious and wary of the old man but seeing the blade on Yuki's neck made him think of how ruthless and cunning the Chairman is.

 **(** **／** **o^)/ °⊥** **＼** **(^o** **＼** **) (** **／** **o^)/ °⊥** **＼** **(^o** **＼** **) (** **／** **o^)/ °⊥** **＼** **(^o** **＼** **)**

Netero, Yuki, Gon, and Killua entered a wide and empty room with foam-like walls and wooden floorboards. A clock ticked quietly at one side of the wall.

Netero shedded his outer clothes, leaving him in a sleeveless undershirt, white pants rolled up to his ankles, and barefeet. Before they entered, he already removed the katana away in which he returned to Yuki who only smacked his head for 'stealing her shit'. He produced a black and yellow ball out-of-nowhere and proceeded to dribble it.

"Alright, let's get this bullshit over with." Yuki grumbled, still annoyed at the fact that she was still defeated by her adoptive granddaughter with her own weapon.

"Patience is a virtue, Yuki." Netero said sagely, making Yuki and Killua snort in derision. "Anyway, let's go by the rules. All you have to do is get the ball from me before this airship reaches its destination." He glanced at the clock that showed five minutes until eleven o' clock in the evening. "Beans said that we're gonna arrive there at eight o' clock so you have nine hours. You can attack me in any way or form. I won't even touch you."

"Eh? That's too easy." Gon frowned. "You can't call that a game."

"Am I included in this?" Yuki pointed to herself.

"Of course you are." Netero laughed. "You have to earn your title. No holds barred, sweetie."

Yuki, for once (or maybe more than once) in her life, didn't want to play the game with Netero. She always hated playing games with the old man because there's _no fucking way_ she could win. "Can I sit this one out?"

Netero knew her intentions so he just smirked and asked, "Who do you want to sacrifice then?"

"You bastard!" Yuki cracked her knuckles. "Fine! I'll play your shitty game!"

Gon and Killua shared a confused look at what just happened, not really getting it.

"I meant there on who I'm going to kill just so she would join the game." Netero told the two boys bluntly. "Isn't my adopted granddaughter so cute and nice to both of you?"

Killua clicked his tongue, his anger meter rising up some more. "Hey, we just need to get the ball, right?"

"Yep."

"Fine. I'll go first."

Yuki walked towards Gon's side to watch what Killua will do. Gon, who was still worried, immediately clutched on her sleeve. "Yuki, are you alright?"

Yuki blinked in surprise but smiled and ruffled his hair. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry. We should just be careful around Gramps because he's an old, sly fox." She narrowed her eyes. "I don't want you two getting hurt because of his idiotic tricks."

"Yuki..." Gon smiled a bit. _'She really cares.'_

Killua started to walk around Netero, who was standing only on his left foot, in a circle and kept his eyes on the old man's. _'He's looking down on me, the old bastard.'_ To the others' surprise, suddenly, there were now several Killuas walking and surrounding Netero.

 _'This is an assassination technique called Rhythm Echo.'_ Netero noted. _'Assassins use a certain rhythm to create after-images that confuses the opponent. My, my, I'm impressed that a young child can do this. Well, I should've expected it from the boy.'_ He quickly glanced at Yuki. _'Not to mention, she also mastered that technique at a very young age. Such young prodigies...'_

All of a sudden, Killua kicked off his position and stretched a hand for the ball in which Netero just swiftly side-stepped. Killua tried multiple times but the old man didn't falter and just continued dodging in fast movements.

Killua paused once to glare. _'Damn, he keeps on moving around. Is he really an old man?'_

"What? Getting tired already?" Netero teased.

 _'In that case...'_ Killua ran towards Netero and aimed his leg for a kick. _'...I'll just stop his movements!'_ Since the Chairman didn't dodge in time, Killua maanaged to place a really hard kick on Netero's leg.

Gon winced at that. "That's gotta hurt Netero-san."

"Not really." Yuki murmured and shook her head sadly. "It only hurt Killua."

"What?!"

Killua barely heard that as he felt sudden pain blaring from his leg, spreading to his whole body. "Holy shit! Ow!" He jumped up and down, trying to ease the pain from his leg.

Netero chuckled. _'He didn't hold back with that kick. If I was an ordinary person, that would definitely shatter my leg bone.'_

"You okay there, Killua?!" Yuki shouted. "That will probably bruise later!"

 _'Goddamn it.'_ Killua snarled. _'His legs feel like they're made of iron from how hard it is.'_

"Killua! My turn!" Gon was now feeling pumped up and he wanted to try his turn.

Killua hopped towards him and clapped his hand. "Gon, good luck."

"Want some ice for that?" Yuki questioned.

"Nah, I'm good."

Netero hummed as he watched Gon do some warm-up stretches. _'What will Ging's boy do? He seems pretty honest.'_

"Okay, I'm ready." Gon smiled, his eyes full of determination. Then, he pushed himself with his foot, quickly going towards the Chairman.

 _'Oh, he has a brisk first step.'_ Netero smirked. _'But he's far too inexperienced to face me head-on just yet. I guess it's because he's young.'_ Then suddenly, the boy disappeared. Netero was so surprised and swiftly averted his eyes upwards. _'Shit, above?!'_ But then, Gon's head hit the ceiling, letting him fall to the floor, writhing in pain.

"You idiot!" Killua yelled. "We all know you can jump high!"

"Control your strength!" Yuki also yelled. "My god, you forgot that we're in an enclosed room, didn't you?"

"Ow..." Gon whined and held his head.

Killua crossed his arms and pouted. "To think that the old man relaxed his guard for a second."

 _'No shit.'_ Netero thought and watched Gon let out a small laugh and walked. _'He may appear to be a simpleton but he used his head. Yuki is absolutely right that Gon is very much like his father...only more emotional and caring.'_

"My turn then. Rest your head first, Gon." Yuki announced and clapped hands with the boy. "Let's do this shit!"

Netero grinned. "Bring it on, brat!"

Gon and Killua sat side-by-side, leaning forward to watch the two intently.

"Okay!" Yuki started by running quickly towards Netero with her hand stretched out.

"That again? You have no originality whatsoever, Yuki!" Netero side-stepped and bounced the ball on his hand.

"Oh really?" Yuki brandished her katana. "Think again, bitch!"

"Fuck!" Netero let out a sigh of relief as he leaned away from the sword that almost sliced off his head. "At least aim for my hand! Not my goddamn head!"

"I'm too tired off to care!" Yuki kept swinging her sword, in which Netero just dodged and dodged. And then, she smirked wildly and threw her katana at the floor, directly behind her adoptive grandfather's feet.

"Shit!" Netero didn't expect that move and slipped on the fallen sword, his hold on the ball slackening.

"It's mine!" Yuki screamed as she threw herself to the ball. Gon and Killua perked up excitedly and almost cheered when abruptly, the blonde girl collided at the foam-like walls. "Ow! What the fuck!"

"Ah damn it!" Killua groaned and plopped down.

"That was so close, too." Gon stated with a sigh.

Netero huffed out a laugh. It was a good thing that he caught the ball faster than Yuki. "Too bad, girl. You surprised me actually."

Yuki pouted and rubbed the part where it hit the walls. "I sacrificed my katana and I didn't even win. I knew this is a shitty game."

"Sore loser." Netero joked.

"Motherfucking bastard."

"Very nicely said."

"Argh!" Yuki rubbed her head in frustration and took hold of her katana. "One more time! Gon, Killua, let's do this shit!"

Gon and Killua stared at each other then grinned widely. "Okay!"

The game continued on with Netero still dodging efficiently and Yuki, Gon, and Killua attacking him several times individually. When the clock showed ten minutes past one o' clock, Yuki and Gon panted at one side while watching Killua try to kick and punch Netero, only to fail when his face suddenly hit the back of the old man's head.

"This is getting you nowhere, kids." Netero hummed. "Maybe you could try attacking me simultaneously?"

"What?!" Killua's head shot up and glared at the old man.

"Alright!" Yuki and Gon both ran at Netero's left and right respectively, only to be pushed down by Netero's hands with the ball in air. It was caught quickly after the two pushes. _'Here they come!'_

Even with the combined effort of the three, they didn't catch the ball or even tire the Chairman.

 _'Netero-san hasn't broke a sweat.'_ Gon smiled as he wiped his face. They continued the attacks and actually managed to hit their heads at each other, making them groan. _'That means we can't beat him without tricks.'_ He backed off then kicked off towards Netero in high speed.

"Your attacks are getting boring." Netero sang out.

Gon let out a shout as he swung his foot upwards. Netero just leaned back, only to feel pain at his chin when a green boot hit it. _'Shit, he threw his shoe off to increase his range. Clever little boy.'_ Then, his eyes widened when he saw Killua behind him, another foot hitting him on the back.

"A chance!" Killua eyed the ball at the air but then, he growled when the old man's foot pushed it away.

"Not really." Netero smirked then gawked when a familiar katana swung it away like a baseball. "What the hell, Yuki?!"

Gon, Killua, and Yuki altogether reached towards the ball, shouting, "It's mine!"

Netero narrowed his eyes, feeling annoyed at how the kids outsmarted him, and jumped forward with so much force that he blew the other three away to the walls, getting the ball in his hand. He stood up, still on one foot, and told them, "I commend your efforts."

Yuki groaned as she sat up tiredly. "I give up. I just want to sleep."

Gon stared at the burnt spot on the floor that came from when Netero jumped forward. "Netero-san, you're really amazing!"

Killua gritted his teeth in anger. He was really pissed off at the cunning old geezer who kept on mocking them. He wanted to slice that grin off and gouge those eyes out and just plain kill the guy. But he tried to calm himself down. He knew that it won't do any good. From what he could see in Yuki's face, there really was no chance they could win. And so, he stood up and said, "Forget it. I give up, too. I lose."

"Eh?" Gon blinked in confusion as he looked at Yuki then at Killua. "Why? We still have time. And we got super close just now."

Killua sighed. "You really don't get it, do you? The old man didn't even use his right hand and left leg much."

"What? Really?!"

"Your observation skills on your opponent aren't that good yet." Yuki commented as she stood up. "Gon, even if we fight him for a whole damn year, we still won't win. We are not that strong yet."

"Ah so you noticed." Netero smiled as he spun the ball on his finger. "I thought I hid it well. I only got Gon-kun fooled. I'm so proud of my little adopted granddaughter."

"...Ugh, I don't even want to hear it." Yuki hobbled towards the door, wanting to at least cuddle up in a blanket on the floor. "I'm so sleepy. It's already past two in the fucking morning. I need to rest."

"And you really know how to piss me off, old man!" Killua jeered. "Come on, Gon. Let's get some sleep."

Gon just smiled. "I'm gonna stay a while longer. You guys go ahead then."

That made Yuki pause on her hobble and turned to gawk at Gon. "I just told you that we can't get that damn ball!"

"It's useless, Gon!" Killua insisted in frustration.

"Yeah, I know." Gon simply nodded. "We only used about half of the time limit so I want to make Netero-san use his right hand at the remaining time."

Yuki and Killua almost fell to the floor in exasperation, feeling so flabbergasted at Gon's thinking, and simulataneously said, "I...see."

"Fine, I get it." Killua lowered his head and strolled out the door. "Good luck." Yuki followed behind him, waving a little and giving Netero and Gon a small smile then shut the door behind her.

Gon was still smiling when he asked the Chairman, "Netero-san, how did Killua do that thing when he walked slowly then suddenly, there were a lot of Killuas?"

"That's a technique used by assassins." Netero answered honestly. "You have no need to learn it. Actually, you shouldn't learn it."

"But it's an amazing technique, right? And since it's used by assassins, Yuki can do it, too, right?"

"Yes, Yuki can do it but she doesn't really use it when she assassinates. Told me that it was too slow and whatever. It requires intensive training just to learn that technique."

"Wow!" Gon was amazed. "Killua is really something! Maybe he's stronger than Yuki!"

Netero guffawed at that. "Not right now but in the future, he might have a possibility." _'Kids and their innocent thinking. They're so precious.'_ He raised his hand up quickly as Gon reached for the ball. "You naive fool."

Gon just giggled, getting excited and pumped up once more.

 **(=** **ｘェｘ** **=) (=** **ｘェｘ** **=) (=** **ｘェｘ** **=)**

Killua stuck his hands in his pockets as he slowly walked in a random direction. He removed his white shirt blue long-sleeved turtleneck to cool off his body...and his mind. _'Damn it, I'm really pissed off right now.'_ He then felt someone bumped on his shoulder but he ignored it. _'If I didn't get out of there, I would've killed that old man.'_

"Hey, brat! Get back here!"

"You bump into us then just ignore it?! Fucking bastard!"

It was a silent affair that was very messy. Killua managed to slice off the head of one guy but then, his eyes widened in shock when he saw a familiar katana stuck in the middle of the chest of the other guy. The sword slowly sliced its way up until it reached the head. One second, there was nothing. The next second, a headless body and a half-vertically-sliced body dropped on the floor, swimming on their own pool of blood.

Killua's blue cat eyes slid towards the owner of the katana and met so-damn-similar blue cat eyes with long blonde hair flowing at the back. "You're a very messy assassin, Yuki Kura." He stated nonchalantly.

"And so are you." Yuki glanced at the claw-like nails dirtied crimson. "It's hard to clean blood from the body and clothes."

"So what?" Killua shrugged. "Blood is already part of my natural scent so I don't mind more."

Yuki smirked at that. "True. Wanna cuddle then?"

That broke the dark atmosphere quickly. "What the hell?!"

"I'm joking, geez! Unless you really want a companion like me under a single blanket, I wouldn't mind at all."

"Pervert!"

"Why did you call me that?!"

"Amateur assassin!"

"You did _not_ just call me amateur, Killua! I'm definitely no amateur, may it be assassinating or sex."

"Just shut up, pervert!"

And they continued their bickering, moving away from the corpses bleeding away.

 **(/^▽^)/ (/^▽^)/ (/^▽^)/**

Netero easily dodged the continuous attacks that Gon was giving him but he noticed something different. _'He's getting faster.'_

"Here I go!" Gon screamed and jumped to headbutt Netero's stomach. Killua and Yuki weren't kidding on how hard the Chairman's body was. "O-Ouch!" Despite having tears in his eyes, he continued on. "One more time!"

 _'If he headbutts me one more time in the stomach, he will get a concussion. Worst case scenario, his skull shatters!'_ Netero bit his tongue in contemplation. _'But then, if I relax my stomach, I'll be the one hurting.'_ He then grinned and jumped over Gon's body. "I'll just run away then."

Gon crashed into the foam-like walls, cushioning his forehead but it still hurt like hell. He fell to the floor, unmoving.

"Oh shit, is he dead?" Netero muttered in concern. He didn't want to tell Yuki that Ging's son died during a friendly game with him. _'Fuck, fuck, fuck...'_ He perked up when he saw Gon shakily sat up with a wide grin.

"You just used your right hand." Gon pointed out, still grinning. "When you jumped over me."

Netero blinked with wide eyes and glanced at his right hand. He nodded slowly in agreement. "So I did."

Gon's grin widened even more and he yelled out, "I did it! Yay! Alright! Woohoo!" His fatigue kicked in and slowly, he fell on his back, already asleep before his head hit the floor.

Netero then smiled softly as he watched Gon snore loudly. He went to get his phone and called the captain of the airship to suggest driving the airship slowly, giving every examinee onboard more time to rest. After the call, he reflected on the game just earlier. He saw something in Gon. Something good...and dangerous. He shuddered to think of what would happen if the boy became stronger.

 _'Yuki, my sweet granddaughter, be careful with your friends and your enemies. It will definitely bite you in the ass if you don't.'_

The remaining forty-two examinees were now on their way to Phase Three's location.

 **ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ** **TO BE CONTINUED ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ**

Author's Note: Damn characters and their complexness! But we love them, don't we, bitches?

 **Next Chapter: Chapter 8: Tricky Majorities**

 **Expect in Chapter 8: Tiles, Prisoners, Annoying Shits**

See you next time! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


	9. Tricky Majorities

Author's Note: Irregular updates are bitches. Love you, guys.

Miwaku: I don't own Hunter x Hunter.

 **Chapter 8: Tricky Majorities**

The sun was slowly rising up in the sky, brightening up the dark sky. The airship with the remaining forty-two examinees of the Hunter Exams was now approaching the location. Phase Three is about to begin.

Gon woke up to an announcement by Beans which stated, "Good morning, examinees. We are about to arrive at the site so please get ready." He grinned widely, the sleep already gone from his system, as he ran towards the windows and saw a really tall and plain tower. _'So this is where the next phase begins.'_ Shrugging on his green jacket, he went out of the room and looked around for his friends. He found them later at the sort-of deck, all ready just like him.

When the airship landed, they got out and looked around, only to see nothing but tiles and the surrounding sky. Beans cleared his throat to get the examinees' attention. "Everyone, Phase Three of the Hunter Exams will begin here, at the top of Trick Tower. The goal is to get to the base of the tower alive within a time limit of seventy-two hours. And so, Phase Three begins now. Good luck, examinees!"

Leorio groaned. "No way. This is definitely a trap."

"Do you know what we can do here, Killua, Yuki?" Gon asked.

"Not really." Yuki shook her head. Killua just shrugged, also not knowing what to do.

Kurapika went to the edge and peered down. Leorio, Yuki, Gon, and Killua followed him and stared at the ground which was definitely too far.

"Are we supposed to climb down this shit?" Leorio muttered as he clutched his suitcase in his arms.

"That will be suicide, Leorio." Kurapika retorted.

"Not really." A burly man wearing green gloves told them and started going down the tower. "But a top-class rock climber can handle this with no problems at all."

"Wow." Killua whistled lowly as they watch the burly man climb down.

"He's going down pretty fast." Gon commented.

Yuki snorted and nudged Leorio. "Going down, huh?"

Leorio smacked her on the head. "And you say I'm perverted, you little bitch."

Then all of a sudden, huge flying monsters that looked like babies from horror movies swooped around the tower and ate the shouting burly man as they flew away. They gawked at what just happenned and shared wary glances to the walls of Trick Tower.

"So, we can't climb down then." Kurapika nodded slightly with a grim smile.

"Agreed." The others murmured in affirmation.

 **＼** **(** **ﾟｰﾟ＼** **)** **＼** **(** **ﾟｰﾟ＼** **)** **＼** **(** **ﾟｰﾟ＼** **)**

Leorio and Kurapika walked around the top of the tower, trying to find some other way to get to the base. But then, Kurapika noticed something different. "There are fewer people now. Twenty-three examinees are left here with the other half already found their way to the bottom. There are probably hidden doors here."

"Shit, seriously? Goddamn it." Leorio rubbed his head angrily. "What the hell are we gonna do?"

"Kurapika! Leorio! Come here!" Gon called out to them, making the two run towards Gon, Killua, and Yuki.

"What is it, Gon?" Kurapika questioned.

Gon smiled and crouched down to touch a tile that moved down when he pushed it a bit. "We found a hidden door."

"I see. So we can get in through flipping the tiles."

"Good job! Now we can get down here! Let's go!" Leorio exclaimed.

"But then, I'm confused about something." Gon frowned.

"What is it?"

Gon pointed out to six directions in a circular motion. "All of those have hidden doors as well."

"It can be a trap." Yuki tapped a finger on her chin. "Like, it might lead to our death or something."

Killua rolled his eyes at her statement. "Since this tower's name is Trick Tower, it probably is a trap. And also, apparently, the hidden doors can only be used once. We tried opening one that was used by an examinee and it won't even budge."

"Judging from the size, it can only fit one person. In other words, the hidden doors can be used once by one person only."

"Gon, Yuki, and I decided to just choose a hidden door, meaning we're gonna split up."

Gon smiled happily. "No hard feelings when one of us activates a trap. Leorio, Kurapika, what are you guys gonna do?"

"I don't mind at all." Leorio smirked. "Luck is part of the exams, after all."

"I have no objections." Kurapika said simply.

With that settling things, they walked towards their chosen hidden doors then faced each other.

"Let's go on the count of three." Leorio told them.

"So this is goodbye for now." Gon smiled albeit sadly.

"Don't worry." Yuki cheered. "We'll see other on the base anyway."

"True that." Kurapika agreed.

"Alright, let's go." Killua got ready himself. "One..."

"...two..."

"Three!"

They simultaneously jumped on their respective hidden doors and plunged down at the same time. Gon, Killua, and Kurapika dropped to their feet while Leorio fell on his face and Yuki on her ass.

"Ah fuck." Yuki rubbed the pain away and to her shock, she saw Gon, Killua, Kurapika, and Leorio surrounding her. "Well, this is interesting."

"Interesting, my ass." Leorio grumbled and wiped his face. "And here I thought I'll get at least some hours without Yuki."

"Hey! Rude much, Leorio, rude much!"

Gon and Killua shared an amused look and laughed out loud.

Kurapika stood up and shook off the dust in his clothes. "That was quite a brief goodbye."

"Oh? What is that?" Gon walked towards the wall with a sign on it and read aloud, "'The six of you must follow the rule of majority to reach the goal.'"

"What does that mean?" Yuki muttered with a raised eyebrow.

"Look, there are stopwatches." Kurapika pointed out at the small circular platform with six watches on it. They shrugged in confusion and decided to wear them.

"There's a countdown timer on it." Killua stated. "There're also two buttons-an **O** and an **X**."

"Don't tell me that we won't be able to get out of here until the sixth person arrives." Leorio grumbled out.

"That is correct!" The speaker suddenly blared out-of-nowhere.

Yuki cried in exasperation. "My god, don't tell me that Lippo is the examiner for this phase."

"That is also correct!" A cackle echoed in the room. "My name is Lippo, the Prison Warden of Trick Tower and this year's Hunter Exams Phase Three's Examiner." Another laugh came out. "Yuki Kura! Did you miss me? I definitely miss you."

"So you know that guy?" Leorio stuck his thumb at the speaker and eyed Yuki.

"Yeah, he's a Blacklist Hunter." Yuki rubbed her forehead, already feeling some pain. "He's a shitty man, a very shitty man. Trust me, we're gonna feel some difficulty in this phase if he's the examiner."

"Turn that frown upside down, Yuki!" Lippo giggled evilly. "This phase won't be that difficult...much."

"Wait, you said you're a prison warden?" Kurapika interjected.

Lippo's tone became a tad serious on that. "Multiple paths have been made in the whole Trick Tower. You five got in the Majority Rule path. Teamwork is what you need to get through this path. One person's selfishness will be the end for all of you. You need one more member to get out of the room so best of luck, guys! And Yuki, I hope you can be available after the Hunter Exams. Laters!"

There was a brief silence before the four males turned towards Yuki in curiosity. The blonde girl just waved it off and said, "He's just getting desparate for more action. I won't take on his offer."

"I want to make a dirty comment on that but this thing-" Leorio tilted his head towards the sign at the wall. "-just made things stressful so I won't. Now, we have to wait for another person to fall here."

Gon, Killua, Kurapika, Yuki, and Leorio sighed at the same time and sat down on the floor with their backs on the walls.

 **(** **)** **ゞ** **(** **)** **ゞ** **(** **)** **ゞ**

Lippo turned away from the monitors in front of him and whistled. A door opened and several persons wearing brown cloaks and metal shackles entered the room. One of them questioned, "Do you need something, Prison Warden?"

"The Hunter Exams begin now." Lippo chewed on a potato chip before continuing. "Go to your assigned places."

There was a resounding 'okay' from the crowd and Lippo smirked. _'Let's see how many examinees I can take down in this phase.'_

 **\\(** **)\ \\(** **)\ \\(** **)\**

Leorio tapped on his wrist, seeing the numbers 69:22:02 on the stopwatch given to them. With the seconds and minutes counting down quick, he was getting agitated on why the hell hasn't a single person dropped in yet. He glanced at Kurapika who was meditating, Killua casually swinging Gon's fishing pole, Gon riding Killua's skateboard, and Yuki nodding off in her sleep.

"Goddamn this bullshit!" Leorio yelled out, standing up and seeing the others stop at what they're doing and looking at him as if he was bonkers. "Two hours already passed since we got in this damn room! What if the other examinees already took different paths?! Only a fucking dumbass would still be up there!"

"Calm down, Leorio." Kurapika reprimanded. "Complaining won't help."

"But Kurapika!"

Killua yawned, feeling bored again, when all of a sudden, he heard some thuds above. He saw Yuki and Gon perk up at the sounds and they stared up. Leorio and Kurapika also heard the sounds and quieted to see who would be the sixth person.

The tile flipped and down went a very familiar fat person in blue clothes. Tonpa stood up and turned to the five staring at him. "...Why are you looking at me like that?" There were five different responses for that.

"It's Tonpa-san! Nice to see you again!"

"Oh. It's him."

"It's the fat guy. You have some drinks, right?"

"..."

"So this is the fucking dumbass left at the top of the tower. Now I know."

Tonpa scowled at them. "You guys suck. Be like that kid in green. Be happy that you have a veteran with you."

"Right." Kurapika deadpanned and threw the last stopwatch at him. "Please wear that."

Once Tonpa caught and snapped the watch on his wrist, a part of the wall slid up, revealing a metal door with a sign on it.

Gon read aloud the sign, "'At this door, select **O** to open the door and **X** to not open the door.'"

"Forcing us to majority rule already." Yuki murmured in annoyance. "Lippo is definitely having fun at our expense."

They pressed a button on their stopwatches. The sign showed **O - 5** and **X - 1**.

"Who the hell pressed the **X** button?!" Leorio glared at Tonpa. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Tonpa laughed innocently. "My bad, I accidentally pressed the wrong button."

"Stop fucking around, old man! Are you blind? You can't just press the wrong button in accident!"

"Calm down." Gon broke the fight. "We can go already. The door opened."

"This is a serious matter! This old dumbass is deliberately pressing the wrong button!"

"We don't have time to argue." Kurapika walked out of the room first. "Let's just go."

"And even if he presses the wrong button, the five of us can just choose the right button." Killua added and followed Kurapika. Yuki and Gon also walked out with Tonpa trailing behind with a smirk and Leorio snarling under his breath.

They entered another room with two metal gates at either side. There was another sign at the wall in between which Gon read aloud once more, "'Which way do you want to go? **O** for right. **X** for left.'" They glanced at the left and right then pressed the button of their choice. The sign showed **O - 4** and **X - 2**.

"Huh?!" Leorio's eyes widened. "Why did you choose right? Isn't it supposed to be left?"

"Studies do show that when a person gets lost and ends up on a fork, he tends to veer to the left." Kurapika explained.

"Oh, I heard about that." Killua said, thinking of the rambles from his family, specifically his second older brother.

Yuki smiled and shrugged. "I always choose right in these kinds of situations because I'm right-handed. I figured, why the hell not?"

"Wait a minute! The numbers don't add up!" Leorio glanced at the others.

"This is like reverse psychology." Tonpa informed with a slight smirk. "If the examiner knows that people tend to choose left, the left path will be more difficult than the right."

"But then, there's reverse reverse psychology where Lippo knows that people tend to choose left so he knows that the examinees will choose right so the right path will be more difficult." Yuki laughed at their dumstruck faces. "But we don't have a choice now, do we? The right path already opened."

Kurapika, Killua, Tonpa and Yuki started walking on the right path with Gon and Leorio behind. The latter was grumbling about simpletons and shitty rules. They strolled the path until they reached a huge room with a square platform on the middle. Candles were lit, surrounding the room with orange-ish light.

"Look over there." Killua pointed across the room and they saw cloaked figures with metal shackles binding their wrists.

One of the cloaked figures, a tanned man with huge arms, announced, "The examinees have arrived. Remove them." The metal shackles plopped down the floor with a heavy thud. He rubbed his wrists to get the blood flowing then removed his cloak, revealing a very muscular tanned man with scars on his bald head.

"What the fuck is this?" Leorio whispered to the others.

"Allow me to explain the rules." Lippo's voice abruptly echoed through the room. "Those who are in front of you are some of Trick Tower's prisoners. The Hunter Association hired them to be your official examiners for you in this path. You will be fighting against the six of them on one-on-one fights. Each person can only fight once. You can use any type of method for your fights. No draws here. You win when your opponent admits defeat."

"You may pick your order." The tanned muscular man told them. "It's majority rule so if you get four wins, then you pass."

"Lippo sure knows how to make this complicated." Yuki drawled out and crossed her arms above her breasts.

"I prefer straightforward rules." Killua shrugged.

Lippo snorted softly. "The fights will not be that simple. For every hour that they delay the opponent, an equivalent year will be removed from their sentence. That's why their goal is to also buy time."

"I see." Kurapika nodded. "Since we have seventy-two hours to reach the base of the tower, time will be critical in these fights."

"Alright, I'm going first." The tanned muscular man smirked. "The name's Bendot. So, who's gonna be my opponent?"

"What should we do then?" Killua asked. "Anything goes here because we can fight in any method we want."

"We have no fucking idea what they're gonna pull on this one." Leorio murmured and clenched his fists.

"Should I go first then?" Yuki raised her hand up but it was pushed down by Tonpa who walked forward. "What the hell, man?"

"I'll go first." Tonpa smiled with confidence, making the others cringe slightly. "I'll act as a guinea pig so that we'll know what they can do. Consider this my apology for my earlier stunts."

"Are you sure, Tonpa-san?" Gon asked worriedly.

"I'll be fine. Plus, you don't even trust me. Do you want me to fight in the tie-breaker when the score is 3-3?"

"True..." Leorio frowned.

"Alright then." Bendot called out. "Let's go."

A bridge connected from where they are up to the square platform. Tonpa and Bendot both moved forward to get to the platform.

"I didn't expect Tonpa to volunteer." Leorio muttered.

"And he actually called himself a guinea pig." Kurapika muttered back.

"Will Tonpa-san be okay?" Gon was feeling worried that the man would get hurt in the fight.

Yuki rolled her eyes. "Why do I have the feeling that this will still lead to shit?"

"It probably will." Killua uttered, also getting a feeling like that.

Bendot placed his hands on hips and smirked. "Let's decide on what method we should use. I propose a death match."

"Death match?!" Gon repeated in shock.

"Shit, we definitely didn't expect that." Yuki slapped a hand to her forehead.

"So they have to fight until one dies..." Leorio gulped.

"Tonpa shouldn't let that provoke him." Kurapika narrowed his eyes.

Tonpa wanted to run but he wouldn't so he steeled himself to say, "I...accept that."

"Eh?!" The five shouted in surprise.

"Very well." Bendot grinned maniacally and went into a fighting stance. Tonpa did that as well.

There was a tense silence as both stared at each other, waiting to see who will attack first. It was as if they were on fire, very pumped up for the upcoming fight. Tonpa slowly raised his hands up and moved them around as if preparing for a combo attack. Bendot roared then jumped towards Tonpa, his fist clenched tight for a punch.

Everyone watched in a shocked silence as Tonpa slammed his hands on the floor then bowed down, shouting, "I give!" The reactions were spontaneous.

"Did Tonpa-san just say... 'I give'?"

"Maybe he meant 'Wait a minute'?"

"...What just happened?"

"That old man is really gonna get it!"

"Fucking hell! We just lost at the very first try!"

Bendot landed on his feet and stared down at the bowing figure of the fatass who decided to be his opponent. "What the hell did you just say?"

Tonpa raised his head meekly. "You win if I admit defeat, right? I give up."

Bendot couldn't help but laugh out loud. It was too fucking amusing for him that he had to laugh. "Fine! I win this round then." The small black screen above the prisoners' side showed the number 1. "If we win three more rounds, you lose! You'll get stuck in here until the seventy-two hours have passed. Then, our sentences will be reduced by seventy-two years." And with one last evil laugh, Bendot returned to where the other prisoners were.

"Well, that was a disgrace." Tonpa gasped when suddenly, a hand clenched his collar and pulled tightly.

"You fucking bastard!" Leorio growled lowly. He was so damn annoyed at the deliberate actions of the old man that he couldn't hold in his anger anymore. He had to let it out somehow. "You're just a little piece of shit that loves being sadistic to damn rookies."

Tonpa grinned widely at that. "That's exactly who I am, rookie. I'm Tonpa, Rookie Crusher, and I intend to do this every single year of the Hunter Exams! I'm not here to become a Hunter. I'm in it for the thrills."

"The thrills?!"

"Yep. The Hunter Exams are not just for those who want to be Hunters. They also crush confident young people's hearts after finding out just how difficult it is. The despair and grief of losing your hope in fulfilling your dream...it's a pleasure to me!"

"You!" Leorio almost punched the guy but Kurapika stopped.

"No, Leorio! This is what the examiner was telling us." Kurapika narrowed his eyes towards the prisoners. "They want us to fight between ourselves, prolonging the time we're wasting and shortening their life sentences."

"Actually, the fat old man made the correct decision." Killua interjected, a smirk on his face. "That bald guy is probably a soldier or a mercenary. Since their goal is to buy time, the first thing he would do is crush your throat so you won't get to admit defeat."

Yuki chuckled darkly at that. "True. Bendot is actually prisoned for murder and robbery. Don't ask me why I know. I just do." She's not the Assassin Princess for nothing after all. "He would've tortured you slowly first, not really killing you, until time is up."

Tonpa shakily looked at Leorio and smiled a bit. "I-I took that into c-consideration..."

"You look sick." Leorio deadpanned. Kurapika was also showing a deadpan expression.

Gon frowned as he glanced at the prisoners across them. _'This is very difficult. I didn't expect that this would be the kind of fights we would do.'_ He became determined. _'We won't lose next time. We'll definitely win!'_

"Anyway, we have to win four times to pass." Yuki huffed.

"Who's next?"

 _'My chance.'_ Gon raised his hand. "I will."

 **（｀＾** **）ノ （｀＾** **）ノ （｀＾** **）ノ**

"Man, they knew my plan." Bendot crossed his arms and leaned on the wall. "I would've punished him slowly and painfully..."

"Don't worry about that." A skinny man walked forward, the shackles falling to the floor heavily. He removed his cloak, revealing shaggy brown hair and a thin body. "If we defeat three of the remaining five, then we win."

Killua hummed as he stared at the new prisoner. "Your opponent doesn't seem strong anyway, Gon. You'll do fine."

"But you can't let your guard down." Kurapika warned.

"He's still a criminal, after all." Leorio added.

"Yeah, I know." Gon inhaled deeply then exhaled slowly.

"You keep a clear mind and be clever, okay?" Yuki patted his shoulders. "I know you can do it."

"Thanks, Yuki." Gon smiled then started walking towards the square platform. The skinny prisoner, who was named Sedokan, also walked to the platform.

Even though Tonpa's actions put the group in a disadvantage, they would do their best to win. There were forty examinees when the airship landed. But with one killed by horrific flying baby monsters, only thirty-nine examinees left. Phase Three of the Hunter Exams continue with only about less than sixty-nine hours left.

 **ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ** **TO BE CONTINUED ε===(** **っ≧** **ω≦)** **っ**

Author's Note: So much characters. So much dialogs. So many quotation marks. Just a normal chapter.

 **Next Chapter: Chapter 9: Prison Fights**

 **Expect in Chapter 9: Candles, Blues, Scarlets**

See you next time! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ


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